The town centre business making huge strides and going toe to toe with the stars

Renovation Station customised a special pair of trainers for Queen legend Brian May to wear at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert earlier this year and owner Steven White admits “it will be difficult to beat”.

Renovation Station is an offshoot of Moran’s of Warrington, which has been in the town for 80 years, repairing shoes, cutting keys and engraving gifts.

Here, in our next Trader of the Week feature, Steven, who has lived in Warrington for 17 years, tells us how the business started from a chance post on social media and how they created footwear fit for a party at Buckingham Palace.

What’s the name of the business?

Renovation Station

What’s the address?

Unit 5, Warrington Market

Are you the owner/manager?

Business owner

When did you open the business?

We officially separated the business from the traditional shoe repair side - Moran's of Warrington - three years ago.

Has it always been in the same location?

We started trading in the temporary market when the business got too busy to work alongside the shoe repairs. We have since moved into one unit but twice the size, to cater for both businesses.

Are you local to the area? Did you grow up here?

I’ve lived in Warrington for 17 years and Moran’s has been a family business based in Warrington since 1943. It was my father-in-law that ran it before me, and his father and grandfather before him.

Tell me a bit about your business. What do you do? What services do you provide?

We offer cleaning, re-dying and customisation of trainers and other footwear and we have our own shoe care range.

Our work has attracted attention from people all over the country including Queen legend Brian May. He was asked to perform at The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert earlier this year and wanted his white Stella McCartney Stan Smith Adidas trainers to be silver with grey laces. His stylist sent the pair of trainers to the shop and they arrived the Saturday before the concert. We stripped the original colour down and sprayed them with a silver airbrush. They were picked up by courier and taken to London ready for Brian to wear at the concert.

The team behind the shoes

Why did you decide to open your own business?

We opened the business when a customer brought a pair of trainers in to be restored. We posted the before and after photos on our Moran's social media and it went crazy. It became a business in its own right!

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect your business?

The pandemic was a difficult time for us as we couldn't work from the shop and we obviously lost a lot of passing trade. But we worked from home, which gave us time to research our own product range.

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What makes your business different to others in the same area/field?

We value customer services massively and every pair of trainers - be it a £50 pair of Adidas or £1,000 pair of Louboutins – with the same care and attention. We have huge support on social media and this has really been an integral part of our success.

What sets your business apart from your competitors?

We recently employed an intern who completed a supported programme through the charity Willow Green, which is a specialist education provider for those aged between 19 and 25. Twenty-one-year-old William Iphofen has autism and was adamant that he wanted to do a work placement for his City and Guilds award at Sainsbury’s as this was a familiar place but his tutors knew he would thrive at Renovation Station. William is very artistic and settled in well. He put his knowledge and skill to good use and really grew in confidence while he was here. He still works with us on a Wednesday afternoon despite finishing his course as he enjoyed it so much. We’re looking forward to supporting other students from Willow Green’s internship programme in the future.

Brian May wearing the transformed shoes

Why do loyal customers return to your business?

We have built up a very loyal customer base with people who have been coming to us for many years at Moran’s. This has transferred across to Renovation Station where we keep in contact with many of our customers. They often pop in to say hello when they’re in the area for festivals.

What’s next? What do the next few months hold for your business?

We're in a super competitive market with our shoe care range but we're looking at getting our name out there as we really believe in our products. We use them with every in-house restoration project. They really do give old footwear a new lease of life.

If you would like to appear in our Trader of the Week feature, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk