C. & J. Clark International Ltd,
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Clarks, 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, ...
international
shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
manufacturer and
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
er. It was founded in 1825 by Cyrus Clark in the village of
Street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England, where the company's headquarters remain.
The company has 1,400
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
ed stores and franchises around the world and also sells through third-party distribution. Clarks also operated concessions in
Mothercare
Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to eight years of age. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap In ...
stores.
The company is commonly known for its
Desert Boot
Chukka boots () are ankle-high leather boots with suede or leather uppers, leather or rubber soles, and open lacing, with two or three pairs of eyelets. The name ''chukka'' possibly comes from the game of polo, where a chukka is a period of play.
...
, an ankle height
boot
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
with
crepe rubber
Crepe rubber is coagulated latex that is rolled out in crinkled sheets and commonly used to make soles for shoes and boots but also a raw material for further processed rubber products.
Processing
Colloidal latex is first mixed with formic aci ...
sole, usually made out of calf
suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...
leather traditionally supplied by Charles F Stead & Co tannery in Leeds. Officially launched in 1950, the Desert Boot was designed by Nathan Clark (great-grandson of James Clark) based on an unlined suede boot profile produced in the bazaars of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and worn by British officers in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
For the year ending January 2013, the company made a profit of £150 million on sales of £1,433m making it the 31st largest
private company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
More than half of its £1.4bn annualised sales to January were generated abroad. Since 2010, the company has begun to trade in India, where it now has 25 stand-alone stores, and relaunched marketing in China, where it has opened 400 outlets in partnership with local footwear retailers.
Clarks was 84% owned by the Clark family, with the remaining 16% held by employees and related institutions.
In November 2020, after a company voluntary arrangement, Clarks was rescued through a £100 million investment by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital, in which the Clarks family lost overall control of the company.
[ In January 2021, Viva China Holdings agreed to acquire 51% of LionRock Capital, so has a substantial stake in the Clarks brand.][
]
History
1825–1862 – Rugs, slippers and prizes
Origins of C. & J. Clark can be traced back to 1821 when Cyrus Clark (1801–1866) entered into a partnership with a Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
cousin in the trade of fellmongering
A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English ‘fell’ meaning skins and ‘monger’ meaning dealer. Fellmongery is one of the oldest pro ...
, wool-stapling
A wool-stapler is a dealer in wool. The wool-stapler buys wool from the producer, sorts and grades it, and sells it on to manufacturers.
Some wool-staplers acquired significant wealth, such as Richard Chandler of Gloucester (England) who built Wi ...
and tanning in Street, Somerset. By 1825, this partnership had been dissolved and Cyrus relocated to a site on the High Street in Street, utilising premises that belonged to his father-in-law to exploit his idea of making rugs out of sheepskins instead of pulling off the wool. C. & J. Clark recognise this as the beginning of their business and continue to occupy the site upon which Cyrus started to this very day.
By 1828, as the business had grown, Cyrus appointed his younger brother James (1811–1906) as an apprentice. Educated away from Street, James was meant to be apprentice to a chemist in Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, but successfully pleaded with his parents to let him stay in Street and help Cyrus. In 1828–1829, whilst serving this apprenticeship, James began utilising the offcuts that were too short for making rugs to produce slippers (known as Brown Petersburgs). The slippers were made using outworkers who collected materials from the factory, assembled footwear in workshops at home and returned the finished product for payment. This trade rapidly evolved, providing James with a legitimate claim to an equal partnership in the business when his apprenticeship was served in 1833. Thereafter, it traded as C. & J. Clark.
The brothers developed national and international trade (Ireland in the 1820s, Canada by the 1830s, Australia in the 1850s) and were notably innovative, winning the gold medal at the Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
in 1851 for their gutta percha elongated galosh.
1863–1903 – Riding the storm
A couple of bad years that combined volatile market conditions, a certain lack of financial rigour and questionable planning brought the business to the brink of bankruptcy in 1863. The local Quaker community stepped in and part of the bailout deal was the nomination of James' eldest son, William Stephens Clark (1839–1925) to the helm of C. & J. Clark.
William Clark put in place an accelerated repayment plan that saw indebtedness drop considerably to 1873 when he became a partner in the business with his father James. For the first time in Britain, William mechanised the shoemaking process and went on to establish C. & J. Clark both as a pioneer of new technology and as a champion of footwear innovation. James withdrew from the partnership in 1889, to be replaced by his son Francis, William's younger brother.
In line with the family's Quaker values, the capital was also extended beyond the factory to benefit social initiatives in Street: a school was founded so that young men and women could combine working in the factory with continuing their education, a theatre was opened, a library was built, along with an open-air swimming pool and town hall. Playing fields were established for the benefit of all and low-cost housing was provided by the company for its employees.
1904–1945 – Style, technology and foot measuring
In 1903 the partnership arrangement was discontinued in favour of a private limited company
A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...
. This enabled the succession to the third generation of family members as children of William Stephens Clark became 'life directors' alongside Francis and himself. Tasked with specific responsibilities, Alice Clark, John Bright Clark and Roger Clark developed distinct roles.
Brothers John Bright and Roger Clark studied American making processes and techniques with a view to appointing a suitable candidate experienced in the American factory system that they might bring to Street. John Walter Bostock from Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
was recruited in 1904. The implementation was a resounding success and Bostock was made a director of the company in 1928.
A London Office, opened in the West End in 1908, supplemented the shoemaking knowledge with style information. A reputation for high-quality goods available in the latest fashions, was established in the early 1910s, and remained until the Second World War. A premium quality 'Tor' range was produced on the principles of standard lines, followed by a range of affordable fashionable footwear called 'Wessex'.
The company had its first national press advertisement in 1934 and entered formally into retailing in 1937 through the acquisition of Abbotts chain of shops based around London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and the provinces. "Peter Lord" was created by Hugh Bryan Clark as a retail brand to avoid alarming agents or alerting competitors to the company's activities. It steadily evolved into a national network of stores.
Growing awareness that 'bad feet' were the product of ill-fitting shoes determined Bostock to devise a new shoe fitting system based on the detailed analysis of thousands of foot measurements taken from local school children. In line with the findings the company launched its new children's ranges in 1945 with a choice of four width fittings, simultaneously with the new Clarks foot gauge that acted as a scientific measuring instrument to aid the shop assistant.
1946–1995 – Growth and challenges
Expansion of the business post-war was largely initiated by fourth-generation family members: Bancroft Clark, appointed managing director and chairman in 1942 and his cousins, Anthony Clark and Peter Clothier, accountable for Sales/Marketing and Manufacturing respectively.
The start-up or acquisition of additional manufacturing facilities (peaking at 17 domestic factories) across the South West and South East of England and South Wales meant that the company's volume market share in the UK increased from 1.1 per cent in 1945 to 9 per cent by 1970.
Foreign manufacturing was also sought through agreements with existing domestic manufacturers: Ireland in the 1930s with Australia, Canada and South Africa added in the 1940s and 1950s. Nathan Clark (younger brother of Bancroft) negotiated a number of these agreements in his capacity as Overseas Manager until 1952.
Bancroft retired in 1967. His son, Daniel Clark succeeded Peter Clothier as managing director in 1973, with Anthony Clark remaining as chairman. He retired in 1974, when his son, Lance Clark
Lancelot Pease Clark (30 April 1936 – 27 February 2018), was an English shoemaker, businessman, and member of the Clark family, which is the majority owner of shoe retailer C. & J. Clark, Clarks.
Career
Clark was born in Street, Somerset int ...
, was appointed managing director of the manufacturing and wholesaling division.
In 1974 Clarks bought the fashionable Ravel, Pinet and Mondaine. The company acquired "K" Shoes, based in Kendal, Cumbria to salvage it from a hostile takeover. The closure of factories started in 1978, and continued throughout the 1980s.
Daniel Clark resigned in 1986 replaced by John Clothier (son of Peter) who remained CEO throughout the turbulent buy-out negotiations with Berisford International Plc, a properties commodities group that attempted to take the troubled company public. While the proposal was defeated by shareholders at the EGM convened on 7 May 1993 it was also decided to move away from direct family management to professional managers, who would rationalise the business, and would be more comfortable with making the changes needed for its recovery.
1996–present: Worldwide growth and a global brand
The appointment of Tim Parker as CEO in 1996 was made on the initiation of the newly elected chairman, Roger Pedder. Clarks format was radically changed with the 'Act Your Shoe Size Not Your Age' Campaign in 1997, which contributed to a freshening of the brand.
Completion of the transition from manufacturing to a wholesaling and branded retailing business was conducted by Parker's successor, Peter Bolliger, who became CEO in 2002. Closure of the company's remaining manufacturing interests meant that the last Clarks UK factory ceased production in 2005 followed by the last "K" factory in 2006. Production was relocated off-shore, using third party factories, predominantly located in Asia.
Transformation of retail and investment to modernise company infrastructure and systems was also completed. Street consequently remains the epicentre for company operations, a distribution facility having been constructed in the village in 2005 with the capacity to process 1 million pairs of shoes per week.
Former CEO, Melissa Potter, who was appointed in 2010, re-organized the business in four regions Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland (from February 2013), the re-launch in China, the move into India, the launch of the online business and the increased focus on building a global brand.
Melissa Potter stepped down as CEO in September 2015. Non-executive chairman Thomas O’Neill lead the business until 2017 when Mike Shearwood was appointed as the new CEO. Then following Shearwood's resignation in June 2018, Stella David was announced as In-term CEO. In February 2019 Giorgio Presca was announced as the new CEO, Stella David returned to her role on the board.
In May 2018, the company announced that it would build a new production plant next to its headquarters in Street, Somerset. The £3 million factory would see the latest in robot technology and create 80 jobs and produce over 300,000 pairs of Desert Shoes per year.
In November 2020, Clarks announced a rescue plan through a £100 million investment by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital after a company voluntary arrangement
Under UK insolvency law an insolvent company can enter into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The CVA is a form of composition, similar to the personal IVA ( individual voluntary arrangement), where an insolvency procedure allows a company ...
(CVA), a form of insolvency, in which the Clarks family will lose overall control of the company. The CVA requires the agreement of landlords, who would receive a percentage of turnover as rent, and creditors.
In January 2021, Viva China Holdings has agreed to acquire 51 per cent of LionRock Capital Partners QiLe Limited, the private equity firm which will own the Clarks brand, for £51 million. The majority owner of Viva China Holdings is entrepreneur Li Ning
Li Ning (born March 10, 1963 in Liuzhou, Guangxi) is a Chinese retired gymnast, billionaire entrepreneur, and the founder of the eponymous sportswear company Li-Ning.
Gymnastics career
Li started training at the age of eight and was select ...
, a former Olympic gold medal winner for China. This resulted in Victor Herrero, a Spanish executive and former CEO of Guess
A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...
, being named as the new Clarks CEO in March 2021. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he served as a board member to Clarks since April 2019. Jonathan Ram was named CEO in March 2022 and took the position in April of that year.
Clarks Companies North America (CCNA)
The history of C&J Clark's representation in America dates back to 1950 and the formation of Clarks of England Inc. Initiated by Bronson Davis, a car salesman, who had seen the Desert Boot at the Chicago Shoe Fair in 1949. Davis established a sales organization covering 150 accounts with outlets that stocked Clarks products, predominantly Desert Boots. He also sponsored advertisements for Clarks shoes in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' magazines.
Davis established relations with some of America's most prestigious retailers; Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Februar ...
, Neiman-Marcus
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...
and Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...
. The coverage for the Desert Boot was consolidated by advertising that targeted the 'campus trade' of Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
, Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
Universities through ads in ''Esquire'' and college magazines.
A young salesman named Robert (Bob) Cullerton followed Bronson Davis at the lead in America. Appointed President in April 1961, he inherited a business focussed on the provision of men's casuals and the Desert Boot. He appointed designer Nancy Knox to create a new range advertised via ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' and ''Gentlemen's Quarterly
''GQ'' (formerly ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and ''Apparel Arts'') is an American international monthly List of men's magazines, men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture fo ...
''.
In parallel with American developments, C&J Clark Ltd. acquired the Blachford Shoe Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Toronto in 1952, establishing a foothold in Canada led by Hugh Woods and Harold Hughes. Similarities between the businesses in Canada and North America meant Cullerton, Woods and Hughes quickly collaborated. They developed a clear vision of what women's sandals and shoes were required to supplement the demand for men's casual offerings. An Italian resourcing programme was started by Woods in 1960 to get more style and variety into the ranges.
Offices were opened in the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in April 1964. Sales were also buoyed by the introduction of the Wallabee in the late 1960s and expansion towards the West Coast. Wholesaling interests were complemented with retail from the late 1970s through the acquisition of Hanover Shoes Inc. who owned 220 retail shops. At the same time C&J Clark decided to bring together its North American interests under one corporation to operate Hanover, Clarks of England and Clarks Canada. The business grew further in 1979 through the acquisition of Bostonian, a well-respected men's dress shoe brand, adding 25 more shop locations as well as entry into 70 leased stores and discounting outlets. Responsibility for Clarks Canada and Clarks of England was transferred to the C&J Clarks HQ in Street in 1986. Clarks of England and Clarks Canada officially merged in 1987 to provide more operational efficiencies and more consistency of product offering for North America.
Bob Infantino became CEO of the North American operations in 1992, taking a key role in consolidating the manufacturing, retailing, and wholesaling activities in America into one company: Clarks Companies North America (CCNA) from 1995. By 1998, CCNA became principally a wholesaling business, serving 170 owned retail locations and 3,600 third party wholesale accounts, representing 14,200 retail outlets. Sales increased by 57 per cent from 1995 to 2001, profits rose five-fold. Infantino left the company in 2010, replaced by Jim Salzano who was at the helm of the North American business until 2013, when CCNA officially became the Americas Region, one of the four regions resulting as part of the re-organization initiated by Melissa Potter. Since March 2016 Gary Champion has led the Americas Region as president, also serving on the Global Leadership Team.
Products
School shoes
In the United Kingdom, Clarks has long been a popular choice of parents as a place to purchase school shoes for children to wear upon returning to school following the summer holidays.
The Independent UK newspaper ranked Clarks as the number one provider of school shoes in the United Kingdom in 2017, highlighting that it has been providing quality shoes for over 170 years and highlighting the fact that Clarks is one of only a few manufacturers of school shoes to be provided in half sizes.
Part of the reason, despite being long-lasting and durable, parents have opted for Clarks school shoes for their children is that almost every Clarks design of school shoes has been classed as "acceptable" shoes in line with most primary and secondary school uniform policies. In recent years, notably in mid–2010s, schools have reviewed their uniform policies and have instead identified a few of Clarks' designs for school shoes as being "unacceptable" and not complying with the school uniform policy of the school.
In 2016, nationwide attention was gathered after 12-year-old Alfie Ingerfeild from Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
was sent home from school at the beginning of the new school term in September after wearing a pair of Harlem Spin shoes from Clarks' Bootleg school shoe range. The school, Mangotsfield School
Mangotsfield School is a secondary school located in Mangotsfield in South Gloucestershire, north of the Kingswood suburb of Bristol.
History
The school was formed in 1982 after a merger of two pre-existing schools; Rodway School (originally ...
, claimed that the Harlem Spin design was "too much like trainers" and therefore classed them as unacceptable and not complying with the school uniform policy, so much so to the extent that the Deputy Head Teacher of Mangotsfield School said that should the shoes be worn the following school then the pupil would be asked to remove them and forced to wear shoes from lost property. This is despite the fact that the Harlem Spin shoes were advertised by Clarks as being school shoes – Clarks did not give a statement in regards to the incident and questions over the design of the Harlem Spin shoes.
In 2017, a particular style of Mary Jane shoes called "Dolly Babe" was compared unfavourably to Clarks' own "Leader" school shoe for boys, with parents and ministers both accusing the company of sexism and gender stereotype
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cente ...
s – the Mary Janes in question being viewed as flimsy and stereotypically feminine with a heart-print insole and a heart-shaped charm on the toe box while the boys' shoe was seen as sturdier. The company soon apologised over the matter and withdrew the shoe from sale. Clarks also issued a statement saying it would commit to designing "gender-neutral
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
" footwear following customer feedback.
In March 2018, two pupils from Kearsley Academy
Kearsley Academy (formerly George Tomlinson School) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status sponsored by Northern Education Trust. It is located in Kearsley in the English county of Greater Manchester.
Previously ...
were sent home from school due to their school shoes, both purchased from Clarks, for "looking too much like trainers". The shoes in question were both purchased from Clarks' Bootleg range, a designated brand of school shoes from Clarks marketed for older children and teenagers.
File:Clarks Paw school shoes.jpg, A pair of boys school shoes from Clarks'. The soles are supposed to represent bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
paw prints
File:Clarks dino school shoes.jpg, Boys school shoes with the soles supposed to mimic a dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
footprint
File:Clarks Bootleg School Shoes.jpg, Boys Harlem Spin School Shoes
File:Clarks Willis Lad school shoes.jpg, An example of recent School Shoes for boys with a bright and colourful insole with school related items such as footballs, headphones and science symbols
Joyance sandal
During the 20th century, Clarks established a reputation for quality children's footwear. The crepe rubber soled Joyance T-bar sandal
A T-bar sandal or T-bar shoe (also known in the United Kingdom as "school sandal" or "closed-toe sandal") is a closed, low-cut shoe with two or more straps forming one or more T shapes (one or more straps across the instep passing through a perp ...
for both boys and girls was one of their most popular designs. Launched in 1933, it continued in production until 1972.
Desert Boot
The company's best-known product is the Desert Boot
Chukka boots () are ankle-high leather boots with suede or leather uppers, leather or rubber soles, and open lacing, with two or three pairs of eyelets. The name ''chukka'' possibly comes from the game of polo, where a chukka is a period of play.
...
– a distinctive ankle height boot with crepe sole usually made out of calf suede leather traditionally supplied by Charles F Stead & Co tannery in Leeds. Officially launched in 1950 the Desert Boot was designed by Nathan Clark (great-grandson of James Clark).
Nathan Clark was an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps posted to Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
in 1941 with orders to help establish a supply route from Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
to the Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
forces at Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
whilst also launching a series of offensives throughout South East Asia. Before leaving home his brother Bancroft had given him the mission to gather any information on footwear that might be of use to the company whilst he was travelling the world. The Desert Boot was the result of this mission.
His discovery of the Desert Boot was made either at Staff College in 1944 or on leave in Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
where three divisions of the old Eighth Army (transferred to the Far East from North Africa) were wearing ankle-high suede boots manufactured in the bazaars of Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. Nathan sent sketches and rough patterns back to Bancroft, but no trials were made until after he returned to Street and cut the patterns himself.
The Desert Boot was cut on the men's Guernsey Sandal last and sampled in a neutral beige-grey 2mm chrome bend split suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...
. The company's Stock Committee reacted badly to the sample and dismissed the idea as it 'would never sell'. It was only in his capacity as Overseas Development Manager that Nathan had any success with the shoe after introducing it to Oskar Schoefler (Fashion Editor, ''Esquire Magazine
''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions.
Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...
'') at the Chicago Shoe Fair in 1949. He gave them substantial editorial credits with colour photographs in ''Esquire'' in early 1950. Bronson Davies subsequently saw these articles and applied to represent the company in selling them across the US, long before they were available in the UK. The Desert Boot was initially sold in Britain through shops in Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...
, featuring a Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
sewn into the label, targeted at tourists. Lance Clark is widely credited with popularising them in Europe during the 1960s.
The Desert Boot have been manufactured at Shepton Mallet, small scale production having initially occurred at Street. During the course of time, Whitecross factory in Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
was subcontracted to relieve Shepton factory of the manufacture of the Desert Boot, before the Bushacre factory at Locking Road, Weston-Super-Mare was constructed in 1958. The Desert Boot was manufactured there until the closure of the factory in 2001.
Clarks announced in July 2017, it was restarting manufacturing Desert Boots, using a new manufacturing unit featuring "robot-assisted" technology, at its headquarters in Street, Somerset. Up to 300,000 pairs a year of desert boots were to be made at the unit, creating up to eighty technical and managerial jobs. However, in January 2019 the company announced that this unit was to be closed, after failing to meet production targets.
Wallabee
Produced by Clarks from 1967 and based on a moccasin called the Grashopper, launched in 1964, by the German company Sioux, the Wallabee brand was manufactured at the Padmore and Barnes factory based in Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
, Ireland, which Clarks had acquired in 1963 and continued to operate until its closure in 1987, when it was the subject of a management buy-out. Managed by Lance Clark who was responsible for having negotiated the licence to produce the shoes in Kilkenny and arranged for the factory staff to be trained in the production of moccasin shoes, the product took off once the decision was taken to market it in North America in 1968. As General Manager of the factory, Paddy Roberts took the shoe to a trade fair in New York in the same year, whereupon he quickly learnt that the trademark Grasshopper had been licensed. In conjunction with Jack Rose-Smith (Clarks Overseas Shoes Export Manager), Bob Cullerton (the President for Clarks in America/Clarks of England), Hugh Woods (managing director of Clarks Canada), Roberts trademarked the name Wallabee. In New Zealand, they were marketed as Nomads.
Desert Trek
Another style associated with the Lance Clark who had seen a Zwartjes version of the shoe on the feet of artist Sonja Landweer
Sonja Landweer (20 April 1933 – 15 December 2019) was a Dutch artist and ceramist, who lived and worked in Ireland, known for her bronze castings, unique patinations and subtle forms.Peppercanister Gallery.Sonja Landweer, biography" at ''pepper ...
in the late 1960s. An artist in residence at the Kilkenny Design Workshops, where she had come into contact with Lance Clark, Landweer's shoes became the basis for production of the Trek which was first attempted at Clarks factory in Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
. This was more attuned to the construction of stitch-down footwear. The shoe was initially launched in North America in 1971 as Trek, before featuring in the UK range in 1972 where it was renamed Hike, owing to an existing footwear trademark. The 'Trek man' that first featured on the shoe was drafted by Lance Clark and refined by the advertising manager in Dundalk, Bob Patten.
Popular culture
Some Clarks styles (particularly the Desert Boot, Wallabee & Desert Trek) were widely adopted as cultural icons by different subcultures and featured in songs as well as popular films and TV series.
Jamaica
The most referenced is the popularity of the Clarks shoes in Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and the association with the Jamaican "rude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...
s" movement.
According to DJ, producer and cultural historian Al Fingers in his book, ''Clarks in Jamaica'', this trend started in the late 1960s when the emerging youth culture of the recently independent Jamaica adopted the Clarks shoes as part of their "uniform." "The original gangster rude boy dem, a Clarks dem wear," producer Jah Thomas
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas (b. 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own ''Midnight Rock'' and ''Nura'' labels.
Biography
Named Nkrumah after Ghanaian national ...
tells Fingers in the book. "And in Jamaica a rude boy him nah wear cheap ting." Writes Fingers, "In the early 70s, the rude boy/desert boot association became so strong that young males risked a beating by police simply for wearing a pair. 'You must be a thief,' the police would say. 'How else would you afford such expensive Clarks?'" He tells the story of an infamous Kingston police officer called Joe Williams, who carried out a raid on a dance being run by producer and label boss "Sir Coxsone" Dodd. The DJ Dennis Alcapone recalls the arrival of Superintendent Williams: "He tell the DJ to turn the sound down, and he say: 'All who's wearing Clarks booty, stand on that side of the dance. And who's not wearing Clarks booty stand on this side.' Because he knows that rude boys wear them, so that is a way of identifying them."
Reggae and dancehall stars Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
, Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
, Ranking Joe
Ranking Joe Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s.
Biography
Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by h ...
, Scorcher, Little John
Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...
, Super Cat
William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...
and countless others had sung about Clarks in the past. Some of the most famous songs written about the Clarks shoes in Jamaica are Little John's "Clarks Booty" and Vybz Kartel
Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...
's "Clarks" (over 2.6 million hits on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
).
Mods
While the Clarks Desert Boots became fashionable in the Beatnik Culture in the US, they became popular with youth in the UK after being adopted by Sixties Mods who wore them as part of both smart and casual clothing outfits. While the shoes are appropriate for a unisex look, they were particularly popular with male mods who wore them with military parka
A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ano ...
s, tailor-made suits with narrow lapels (sometimes made of mohair), thin ties, button-down collar shirts, and wool or cashmere jumpers.
Paris riots
The joint influences of the Beatniks and Mods made the Clarks Desert Boots ("Les Clarks") popular among the Parisian students who wore them during the 1968 riots.
The Clarks Desert Boots carried on through to the Mod Revival era of the Seventies and Eighties becoming a true Retro Mod Classic. They famously featured quite heavily in the 1979 "Quadrophenia
''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the two previous being the "mini-opera" song " A Quick One, While ...
", Franc Roddam
Francis George "Franc" Roddam (born 29 April 1946) is an English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher, best known as the creator of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' and the director of ''Quadrophenia'' (1979). He is ...
's film adaptation of the Who
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...
's rock opera influencing in turn the Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
movement of the 1990s.
Rappers
The Clarks Wallabees in particular were adopted in recent times by the American rapper community. Their appeal can be traced to a wave of Jamaican immigrants who came to New York in the 1970s and paired Clarks shoes with suits. "African-Americans saw it as an alternative to sneakers and jeans and incorporated it into their look," said Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
, a rapper, whose parents were born in Jamaica and later moved to the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. "It's a way to be casual but not look like a scrub. The ladies like that."
The shoe was long a staple of fashionable West Indians in New York City but towards the 1990s had fallen out of favor in hip-hop circles who tended to gravitate toward Timberland boots or sneakers. The rebirth of the Clarks Wallabees as a cool staple from mid-late 1990s is linked with New York-based hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
. Wu members (RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...
, GZA
''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...
, Method Man
Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...
, Raekwon
Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...
, Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
, Inspectah Deck
Jason Richard Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface.
He has acquired critical praise for his intricate lyri ...
, U-God
Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow tha ...
, Masta Killa
Jamel Irief (born Elgin Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though one of the lesser-known members of the group (he was featured on only one track on their 19 ...
, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...
) and in particular Raekwon and Ghostface Killah wore Wallabees because not only they found them aesthetically pleasing but also since no other rapper was wearing them, they showed that they weren't victims of the trends. They even featured the name of the shoe in the lyrics of several songs, engendering a revival of the Wallabees as a hip-hop staple by the mid-late 1990s. This justified Ghostface Killah to call himself Wally Champ and feature custom-dyed Wallabee shoes on the cover of his 1996 "Ironman
Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to:
*Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer
*Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter
*Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician
*Mick Murphy ...
" album. His 2008 compilation album was also called " The Wallabee Champ".
''Breaking Bad''
In the cult TV series, ''Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', lead character Walter White Walter White most often refers to:
* Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad''
* Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP
Walter White may also refer to:
Fictional characters
...
(played by Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...
) morphs from a bland high school chemistry teacher into an all-powerful drug kingpin with trademark pork pie hat, black sunglasses and goatee, but he still wears Wallabees, just about the only shoe he wears from the beginning of the five-season series until its completion.
Heritage
The Shoe Museum was established in 1950 by Laurence Barber at 40 High Street near the Clark's headquarters in Street, Somerset. The museum displayed some 1,500 shoes as well as related exhibits, describing the development of shoes from Roman times and especially detailing the growth of Clarks shoes and shoemaking in Somerset. In 2002, a charity called the Alfred Gillett Trust was established to care for the archives and collections of C&J Clark Ltd and the Clark family. Working closely with The Shoe Museum, the trust's collections include family and business archives, catalogues and sale materials, artwork and furniture, costume, film and sound archives, historic shoes and shoe making machinery. The trust is named after Alfred Gillett, a cousin of the company's founders and an amateur paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
; some of his fossils are included in the trust's collection. The trust is based at The Grange, a Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
close to the museum in Street. In September 2019, it was announced that The Shoe Museum would close and the collection would be transferred to the Alfred Gillett Trust's archive.
See also
* Helen Bright Clark
Helen Bright Clark (1840–1927) was a British women's rights activist and suffragist. The daughter of a radical Member of Parliament, Clark was a prominent speaker for women's voting rights and at times a political realist who served as a mains ...
, wife of William Stephens Clark, women's rights activist and suffragist
* Alice Clark Alice Clark may refer to:
* Alice Clark (historian), British feminist and historian
* Alice Clark (singer), American soul singer
See also
* Alice Clarke, English cricketer
{{hndis, Clark, Alice ...
, daughter of William Stephens Clark, feminist and historian.
* Dr Hilda Clark
Hilda Clark (12 January 1881 – 24 February 1955) was a British physician and humanitarian infrastructure creator worker. In August 1914, she was the instigator of what became a Quaker relief infrastructure across Europe and through Russia, the F ...
, daughter of William Stephens Clark, physician and humanitarian
References
Further reading
*Mark Palmer, 2013, ''Clarks, Made to Last: The Story of Britain's Best-Known Shoe Firm''
So Much More to This Man. Nathan Clark for Clarks
2013.
External links
*
Nathan M. Clark papers
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:C. and J. Clark
British companies established in 1825
Manufacturing companies established in 1825
Shoe companies of the United Kingdom
Companies based in Somerset
Privately held companies of the United Kingdom
Street, Somerset
British brands