Clarks : An institution

No British high street is complete without a Clarks shoe shop. They might not be high fashion, but their footwear is perennially popular. Almost everyone in the country has probably worn, at some time in their lives, a pair of Clarks shoes.
In this age of global brands most of us don't realise that Clarks has its roots in the west country of England. It began all began in the appropriately named village of Street, in Somerset. It was 1825 and Quaker Cyrus Clark owned a tannery his brother James worked alongside him, making sheepskin rugs. The process inevitably led to waste sheep skin piling up in the workshop.

With a flash of inspiration James decided to experiment with making a pair of slippers from these leftovers. The result was practical, affordable footwear - which is has been the hallmark of Clarks ever since.

The brothers called the slipper the 'Brown Petersburg' and it became incredibly popular. By 1840 they were producing a thousand pairs each month, which was a huge amount in an age before mass production. The whole village had become involved in the process of making shoes.
In 1851 the brothers won two awards at Prince Albert's Great Exhibition in London. They represented success in British innovation and manufacturing. But by the 1860's the business of C&J Clark Limited was struggling due to a recession. Money was tight and they needed to borrow from fellow Quakers, but it came with strings attached.

The founders of the company were asked to step back to allow William, the youngest son of James, to take over. He took the bold decision to invest in new technology, the Singer sewing machine. Clarks began factory production, repaid the loan, and erected an industrial complex in Street.

As fashions changed, Clarks continued to create new designs and capture new customers. In the 1930's they began to advertise their products for the first time. They also purchased a chain of shoe shops and launched their own retail brand, Peter Lord.

The Second World War saw a temporary change of focus, with the Street factories producing torpedoes, not shoes. But once the fighting was over production continued. The Desert Boot, a design classic, was developed in the 1950's. In 1957 a flagship store was opened on Regent Street in London's fashionable West End. Increasing production meant new factories were opened elsewhere in the country.

The end of the twentieth century brought new challenges. Increasing competitiveness meant that production costs had to be cut and, unfortunately, this meant moving the process to the Far East. Keen to maintain their heritage in Street, Clarks converted their former works into the first outlet shopping centre.

Another challenge was internet shopping. At first Clarks were reluctant to permit their products to be sold this way, concerned that the quality of service would dimish because there was no interaction between the customer and the training sales assistant. However, these concerns were overcome.

C&J Clark Ltd remains a private company, despite some plans to go public in the recent past. It is a British success story and occupies a proud place in our industrial history.