Clarks
Clarks is one of the largest privately-run companies in Europe and is now the world’s biggest shoe brand and the UK’s largest shoe retailer.
C& J Clark, the company behind the internationally-famous Clarks shoes brand, was started in the village of Street back in 1825 by Cyrus and James Clark. Back then the business was mainly concerned with sheepskin tanning – an industry still carried on in the Mendip area – but by the mid-Victorian era, shoes became the Clark family’s main concern.
Quaker industrialists in the classic mould, the Clark family’s patrician and philanthropic tradition helped develop Street into a thriving and progressive community.
By paying attention to fashion changes – particularly in the field of women’s shoes – and establishing a reputation for excellence, the brand grew steadily. The desert boot, invented by Nathan Clark in the 1950s, is just one innovation that kept Clarks at the forefront of footwear, as were polyurethane soles, introduced in the 1970s.
The firm, now with more than 12,000 employees worldwide, is still based in Street.
Clarks is one of the largest privately-run companies in Europe and is now the world’s biggest shoe brand and the UK’s largest shoe retailer and largest manufacturer of children’s footwear. 2005/2006 turnover was £921,000,000.
