After 60 years selling shoes in St. Thomas, Ont., Mugford’s is set to close

After 60 years selling fine shoes and clothing, a long-time family-run business in St. Thomas, Ont., is set to close, citing the rise in online shopping. 

Mugford’s Shoes & Clothing, which once included eight retail stores in the London area, will shut down its final shop at the end of August.

The store at 429 Talbot St. is coming to an end in an era of big-box retail stores and online shopping. However, co-owners say it was built one customer at a time through face-to-face in-store service, custom fittings by trained salespeople and an eye on the latest fashion trends. 

The business was started in 1965 by Donald Mugford, who died eight years ago at 81 years old, and his wife Merle. Over the years, the business expanded to include stores in London’s Richmond Row, a location that closed in 2020, and a Westmount Mall location, which closed earlier this year. 

CBC News paid a visit to Mugford’s this week as Donald’s and Merle’s daughters, Patti and Jodi, aimed to sell off the remaining stock. Both worked in the store over the years and have fond memories of being there as children.

“We have been thinking about it for a while,” Patti said of the decision to close. “COVID truly affected us and the rest of the retail world, and we’re getting older. We want to do other things and the face of retail has changed drastically.” 

That drastic change includes a shift toward shopping online that has rocked all retailers, including the larger stores. 

“We’re old school,” said Patti. “We still measure your feet. People come in, they sit down, they want us to put their shoes on for them. That’s us — that’s where we come from.”

The shoe store was a home away from home for the children growing up.

“We were always in the store, probably since I was 11 years old, answering telephones on Saturdays, and we always came up here after school,” said Patti.

Patti described the frustrating experience in recent years of working with in-store customers, only to lose the sale to an online retailer.

“They put the shoes on, they fit great, they say, ‘I’m going to think about it,’ and the next thing you know, they’re taking a picture and buying it online. It’s happened numerous times.” 

Patti said her parents worked day and night at the store. They took buying trips to Europe to ensure their stock followed the latest trends and even developed their own product lines.

“He would design the shoes and he would have the customer in mind that he was buying for,” said Patti of her father, Donald. “I’m sure there’s still people in the London and St. Thomas area that have shoes in their closet with a ‘Donald Mumford’ label in it.” 

Although their business is closing, Patti said she feels positive about the future of St. Thomas, with the construction of the electric vehicle battery plant set to open in two years. 

The family still owns the building, which is for sale. It’s an opportunity, said Patti, for a new family to take over and build a new tradition.

“I think St. Thomas is going to boom,” she said. “And there’s tons of young families here. We would encourage a family to come and take over the store. There will always be a place for it.”