Gary Weiner, Saxon Shoes president and CEO (Photo by Ali Jones)
Saxon Shoes has a new look.
The retail landmark marks its 65th anniversary in Richmond with a consolidated space on the upper level at Short Pump Town Center, 11800 W. Broad St. The store has also been renovated: Gone are the stark white-tile walkways that traversed the different shoe sections, now replaced with light-colored carpeting. The space has been opened up by removing dividing walls; there’s also new lighting, and the men’s section is now in the front of the store.
Saxon previously occupied the upper and lower levels of the shopping complex. Gary Weiner, president and CEO of Saxon Shoes, says shopping center management had requested the lower-level space of the store, and that got the ball rolling on a complete store renovation. Saxon worked with KSA Interiors of Glen Allen and Perretz & Young Architects of Ashland on the design.
Saxon has gone from 27,000 square feet to a 21,000-square-foot space in the consolidation. Weiner says that the sales-floor square footage has only slightly decreased due to the removal of the tile walkways, and some of the office space has also been reduced. While there is less square footage overall, Saxon still touts itself as the largest full-service shoe store in Virginia. “This store is still eight times bigger than the average shoe store,” Weiner says. “The average shoe store is only about 2,500, 3,000 square feet.”
The store has also added new brands to its inventory. “[There are] new colors and a few more European fashions to mix in with everything that our customers love already,” Weiner says.
Saxon was started in June 1953 by Weiner’s father, Jack.
“[Saxon has] grown from one employee, my dad, to well over 100 people in two very large stores [there is a second location in Fredericksburg], so it’s kind of a legacy that my parents worked very hard to start and we’ve worked pretty hard to maintain and grow,” Weiner says.
Saxon remains committed to the community, often giving back through fundraising and charity shoe drives as well as making sure the service they provide creates that feeling of a quality neighborhood store.
“We want to be nice to [customers], we want to help them with their questions and not just say, ‘Here you go, thanks, have a great day.’ We want to be the place where people don’t mind coming in and shopping; maybe we can be the ‘Cheers’ of shoes,” Weiner says. “And maybe I’ll be lucky enough to be Norm.”
