SOCKSHOP is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based specialist retailer of

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

and

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as ...

. Founded in 1983 by Sophie Mirman and Richard P. Ross, SOCKSHOP became part of the Ruia Group in 2006, and is now based mainly online, with stores in the

Manchester Arndale Manchester Arndale (one of a number of shopping centres in the UK by the same developers, also known simply as the Arndale Centre or the Arndale) is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 19 ...

and The Lowry Outlet, as well as concessions across the

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Business history

Founding

SOCKSHOP was founded by husband-and-wife team Sophie Mirman (daughter of

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

Simone Mirman Simone Mirman (1912–2008) was a Paris-born milliner based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the British royal family. Early life Simone Parmentier was born in Paris on 18 May 1912 to middle-class Catholic parents. Simone had an ap ...

) and Richard P. Ross, a former colleague of Mirman's at speciality retailer Tie Rack; both Ross and Mirman had acted as retail directors before leaving to launch SOCKSHOP. Mirman envisioned a range of small shops selling only women's

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

, stockings and

, with the aim of customers being able to purchase socks and hosiery "as easily as they buy newspapers".Lohr, Steve, ''A "Silly" Sock Idea Makes Millions'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 23, 1987 Mirman, through her experience as a junior secretary at

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

and then later through its management training programme, had identified a need to buy stylish hosiery without having to hunt through large department stores to find it, which at the time dominated the British hosiery market. With the assistance of a Government

loan guarantee A loan guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party (the guarantor) to assume the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. A guarantee can be limited or unlimited, making the guarantor liable for only a portion or all of the d ...

programme for capital-short entrepreneurs, Mirman and Ross launched SockShop in 1983. SOCKSHOP outlets were purchased, many placed for their convenience on busy city streets, in train stations, subway stations and airport, and for their small size, with most having a floor space of between and no visible doors. Their stock featured bold colours, dramatic patterns and novelty designs in hundreds of styles. Prices were considered moderate at £0.99 to £24.99 per pair in 1987, with the priciest designs including gold-lace tights.

Early years

The first SockShop store was opened on the

concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or tr ...

of the

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancien ...

tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Und ...

. Though the business' original ambitions were modest, exceeding no more than four or six retail outlets, by 1987, there were 52 stores in the SOCKSHOP chain, with the business having become one of the fastest-growing speciality retailing businesses in Europe. Mirman had become the 188th richest person in Britain, and its youngest millionaire. In November 1987, SockShop (recently renamed as a company to ''Sock Shop International P.L.C'') opened three stores in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, aiming (as in London) towards walk-by traffic. One of these outlets was at the 42nd Street entrance to

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

, the same principle as behind the first British store's placement.

Administration to present day

A couple of years later, when

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

struck, Mirman and Ross discovered that their equity (worth £50 million in 1988) had become valueless, and were overwhelmed by debts. In 1990, the business entered administration and BDO Binder Hamlyn took over. 58 shops, including 17 outlets in the

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(14 in

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alone) were closed down, and discussions were entered with interested parties to try to get new funding capital for financing expansion in Europe. Despite the closures, administrators recommended Mirman to be retained in a key role, praising her business acumen. In August 1990, the business, 85 shops, and the French subsidiary were purchased for £3.25 million (plus an injection of £3.75 million working capital) by a consortium backed by Scottish

fund manager Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gath ...

Murray Johnstone. The company was renamed ''SockShop Holdings''. Unsecured creditors and shareholders in ''SockShop International'' received no money from the sale. The chairman for Murray Johnstone Developments, Fred Dalgarno, blamed the expense of the US operation and over-expansion for Sock Shop's problems. Having shed the burden of their debts, it was planned that ''SockShop Holdings'' be expanded more cautiously. ''SockShop Holdings'' fell back into the administrator's hands a second time after becoming part of the Facia Group, a retail conglomerate of 850 shops and 80,000 employees that collapsed in 1996 with debts of £70m due to the fraudulent actions of its owner, Stephen Hinchliffe. It was subsequently acquired by the Tulchan Group. In 2003, SockShop (by then reduced to 13 stores across the UK) was bought for £3.9 million by the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

-based firm of Harris Watson Holdings. The firm collapsed a third time in 2006. The administrators, Poppleton & Appleby, were brought in on 25 January 2006 to try and salvage the dramatically reduced company. This third collapse was attributed to substantial losses as a result of a slowdown in consumer spending and a rise in running costs. In February 2006, following administration, it was bought by Osan Ltd which is a subsidiary of Ruia Group.

Online shop

Following the 2006 purchase, SOCKSHOP became primarily an internet retailer, and is based at Dove Mill in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

. The online store, www.sockshop.co.uk, houses SOCKSHOP's largest collection, including socks, tights, hosiery, underwear and accessories from more than 90 brands – among them Falke, Pantherella, Calvin Klein,

Sloggi Triumph International is a Swiss underwear manufacturer founded in 1886 in Heubach, Germany. The company's headquarters has been located in Bad Zurzach, Switzerland, since 1977, and it has branches in 45 countries. In addition to the Triumph br ...

Happy Socks Happy Socks is a Swedish manufacturer and retailer of socks, underwear, and swimwear. The company was founded in 2008 by Mikael Söderlindh and Viktor Tell who respectively took on the roles as CEO and creative director. In 2017, Palamon Capit ...

and Stance, as well as several of their own brands, including Pringle, ELLE, Heat Holders, Glenmuir, Jeep, Workforce and Wild Feet. SOCKSHOP.co.uk boasts a wide and growing range of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

products, including socks and underwear.

Physical stores

SOCKSHOP has two main stores, as well as a number of concessions across the UK. SockShop Manchester Arndale

The Lowry Outlet

SOCKSHOP opened a store in The Lowry Outlet in 2014, selling a selection of socks from the company's own brands, as well as items from other companies within the Ruia Group.

Manchester Arndale

In 2015, SOCKSHOP opened a store in the

shopping centre in Manchester city centre. Located on the ground floor of the centre, the store sells a range of products from SOCKSHOP's own brands.

Charity work

Socks for a Cause

In 2018, SOCKSHOP launched its ''Socks For A Cause'' campaign, donating 20,000 pairs of socks to various homelessness charities in an effort to combat the growing problem of trenchfoot amongst homeless people, and to help tackle the homelessness problem in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

. SOCKSHOP continues to donate socks, underwear and accessories to homeless charities across the country.

Pride socks

SOCKSHOP designed and launched a range of

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...

socks in 2017, donating 20% from the sale of each pair sold to the

LGBT Foundation LGBT Foundation (formerly known as The Lesbian & Gay Foundation) is a national charity based in Manchester with a wide portfolio of services. With a history dating back nearly 40 years, it campaigns for a fair and equal society where all lesbian, ...

, a Manchester-based charity which provides help and support for members of the

LGBT+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

community.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

1983 establishments in the United Kingdom Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom Hosiery brands Retail companies established in 1983 Socks