Founded in 1890, Bells Shoes is a family-run premium footwear retailer based on the edge of England’s Peak District. What began as a local community shop in Buxton has today grown into a multi-channel business with tens of thousands of customers worldwide. We caught up with James Broady and Ben Rees, Senior Sales and Business Development Managers (respectively) at Bells Shoes, about the story behind their international e-commerce success.
PayPal (PP): When and how did you start selling abroad?
James Broady and Ben Rees (JB & BR): The business has been going since 1890, and we launched our website in 2007. Once we established an online presence we began to see international interest rise significantly. Over the past nine years our total international sales have grown by 54% year-on-year and we are now trading in 43 countries.
PP: What have been your greatest successes?
JB & BR: Just under two years ago we moved all of our online operations to a dedicated 17,000 square feet warehouse in our home town of Buxton. Due to the growth of the online business our international sales now far exceed our domestic. Achieving sustained international growth whilst staying true to our Peak District roots has been very satisfying.
PP: When did you start using PayPal?
JB & BR: We’ve been using PayPal as long as we’ve been selling online and it has definitely played an important role in our international success.
PP: What is the greatest challenge you had in building up an international customer base and how did you overcome it?
JB & BR: After some initial research we discovered that a high number of Chinese shoppers were visiting our website, and that China offered a significant growth opportunity for us. However, we found it very difficult to market to this Chinese audience.
We then discovered PayPal’s China Connect programme, which provides free advice and guidance on building online sales in China. The programme gives Chinese shoppers direct access to online shops powered by PayPal worldwide, whilst also providing a promotional platform for those businesses.
With guidance from PayPal as to what would work well, we created an initial set of offers. These ran for a month, supported by social marketing and banner advertising across five websites from China Connect. China is now one of our largest markets, accounting for 76% of our PayPal transactions.
We’ve also found that shoppers are more likely to complete their order if they can view it in their local currency. We currently operate through a single domain,
bellsshoes.co.uk, with options to show prices in four currencies (pounds sterling, euros, US dollars and Australian dollars). Payments are processed in sterling at the prevailing exchange rate, no matter which country the order is placed in.
PP: Has using PayPal helped you build an international business?
JB & BR: Absolutely. We’ve attracted a lot of international customers who, without PayPal, otherwise wouldn’t have bought from us. PayPal is known for its security and ease of use, and having that recognisable PayPal logo at the bottom of the website drives a lot of business for us.
PayPal’s China Connect programme has greatly increased our visibility in China. Web sessions – individual users visiting our website from within China – have doubled since we signed up, which has translated into huge growth in our sales. The sales are not limited to special offers either. The increased overall traffic to our page has seen our Chinese sales increase 258% year-on-year!
PayPal has definitely been a big help for us, and we’d recommend it to anyone looking to expand their sales abroad.