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OVERVIEW l
CONTEST HISTORY l
PAST WINNERS
During the
mid-1930s, the shoe repair industry stood at a
crossroads. The Great Depression was in full
force. Public use of shoe repairing was off as
much as 75 percent, according to the National
Leather and Shoe Finders Association (now SSIA).
Thousands of unemployed workers from other
industries decided to scratch out a living
repairing shoes, which meant lower prices,
poorer overall craftsmanship and a
less-than-attractive reputation for the industry
as a whole.
In order to correct
the situation, NLSFA undertook the most massive
project in its history. First, there was the
Peoria Test, a very expensive consumer research
program that identified four areas in which the
shoe repair industry needed to improve -- shop
appearance, workmanship, merchandising and shop
management.
Following the Peoria
Test was the Peoria Guild Plan. NLSFA produced
everything from paint, floor coverings and
fixtures to help shop appearance; to displays
and advertising materials to help with
merchandising; to printed guides with specific
information to improve workmanship and
management. More than 4,000 shops joined the
Guild.
Finally, to
recognize those shops with outstanding results
in each of these categories, NLSFA created the
National Silver Cup Contest. It was designed not
only to recognize excellence in the industry,
but to bring greater recognition within the
industry of what must be done to succeed.
Though the Guild
Plan faded over time, the Silver Cup Contest
kept going strong. From the late 1940s to the
present, it has been a major annual event in the
shoe repair industry. Repairers take great pride
in winning awards and wholesalers and
manufacturers shower the winners with praise and
recognition. The Grand Silver Cup is held up as
the symbol of excellence for which every shop in
the industry should strive. |
