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C&J Clark

C. and J. Clark International Ltd
Clarks
Limited company
Industry Retail
Founded Street, England (1825 (1825))
Founder Cyrus Clark and James Clark
Headquarters Street, Somerset, England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mike Shearwood, Chief executive officer
Products Footwear
Revenue Increase£1,492m (2015)
Increase£129 m (2015)
Number of employees
Increase 15,380
Website www.clarks.com

C. & J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British-based, international shoe manufacturer and retailer. It was founded in 1825 by Quaker brothers Cyrus and James Clark in Street, Somerset, England – where it still has its headquarters. The company has over 1,000 branded stores and franchises around the world and also sells through third-party distribution.

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 in the UK. More than half of its £1.4bn annualised sales to January were generated abroad, and since 2010 the company has moved into India, where it now has 25 stand-alone stores, and relaunched itself in China, where it has opened 400 outlets in partnership with local footwear retailers.

It is 84% owned by the Clark family, with the remaining 16% held by employees and related institutions.

The company is renowned for its Desert Boot – a distinctive ankle height boot with crepe rubber 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) based on an unlined suede boot profile produced in the bazaars of Cairo and worn by British officers in the Second World War.

Origins of C. & J. Clark can be traced back to 1821 when Cyrus Clark (1801-1866) entered into a partnership with a Quaker cousin in the trade of fellmongering, woolstapling 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.


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