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FloorPlay Socks Expands Retail Footprint

par Digital Main Street   |   13 avril 2018   |   Partager :  

Toronto-based retailer FloorPlay Socks has found a successful niche in a basic everyday item. The company sells socks – and only socks – and that narrow focus has helped FloorPlay stand out from its competitors and become an authority in the market.

By Megan Harman

The retailer, which is preparing to open its fourth store this month, carries a large yet carefully curated selection of socks. 

Founded by Janet Wright in 2013, FloorPlay has grown steadily since opening its first store on Queen Street West in Toronto. The retailer has since opened a store at Yonge and Eglinton in midtown Toronto as well as one in Hamilton, and now is preparing to open a location in Toronto’s Distillery District.

“We really have cornered the market,” says Wright.

With socks having evolved in recent years from a basic necessity most commonly found in black or white, to an integral part of an outfit available in every colour of the rainbow, FloorPlay has tapped into a market that grows every year.

 

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Shoppers won’t find a lot of basic black socks at FloorPlay. Instead, the stores are filled with many brightly coloured socks boasting bold patterns, unique designs and an array of superheroes and cartoon characters.

“Our customer is the person who wants the brightly coloured, well-made socks that look great,” Wright says.

Fans of Marvel Comics, for example, would be excited to find a bright blue and red pair of socks featuring Captain America, produced by Bio World Merchandising, Inc. and hockey fans could pick up a pair of socks featuring Mike Babcock, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, produced by Babsocks – a partnership between Babcock and the Movember Foundation.

FloorPlay also carries a range of specialty socks, including skateboarding socks by Stance, Inc. and compression socks by Top & Derby Ltd. The retailer has developed its own in-house line of socks, as well, and is in the process of launching a new higher end ‘black label’ line.

 
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Wright focuses on carrying brands based in Canada and the U.S., and especially small businesses.

“We try to buy from smaller companies as much as we can,” she says. “I believe small businesses should all support each other.”

Wright also applies that approach when choosing décor for her stores. “I try to decorate the stores as much as possible with antiques from the neighbourhood,” she says. The new Distillery District store, for example, will be furnished with items from one of the neighbouring antique stores.

“We try very hard to become part of the community that we’re in,” Wright says.

Providing a high level of customer service and a fun shopping experience are key components of FloorPlay’s business model. Wright says she has achieved that thanks to her staff.

 

 

Megan Harman is a business reporter based in Toronto. She writes about topics including retail, financial services and technology. Megan covers Toronto’s retail industry through her blog Retail Realm (torontoretail.wordpress.com). Follow her on Twitter at @meganmharman.

 

Check out our previous article: FloorPlay Socks uses social media to expand their global footprint from their shop on Queen West

About Digital Main Street

Digital Main Street a été créé par la Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), avec la contribution directe de la Ville de Toronto. DMS est aussi appuyé par plusieurs partenaires d'affaires stratégiques comme Google, Mastercard, Shopify, Microsoft, Facebook, Intuit QuickBooks, Square, Pages Jaunes et Lightspeed.

This case study was completed during a prior expansion of DMS in partnership with the Province of Ontario and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

In June 2020, a $42.5-million investment from FedDev Ontario and an additional $7.45 million from the Government of Ontario brought together the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Communitech, Invest Ottawa and the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association to expand the Digital Main Street Platform in order to support more businesses going digital as a response to the impacts of COVID-19.

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