How do makers of classic shoes succeed internationally? What are the important success factors, and the pitfalls? How strong is the British shoe heritage around the world nowadays, and what do the growing competition from Spanish, Portugese and Asian-made welted shoes mean? These are some of the topics that Richard Utting, Export Manager at one of Englands largest makers of Goodyear welted shoes, Loake, talk about in episode 8 of the Shoegazing Podcast.
Richard Utting.
This episode was recorded at the Micam shoe fair in Milan, Italy, back in February (so before the coronavirus started to affect outside China). I sat down with Richard Utting, Export Manager at Loake Shoemakers. Loake was a brand that, contrary to many other Northampton based companies, first got big on the domestic market and then went on to grow internationally. Richard Utting has been a large part of this journey, and we had a very interesting talk about everything from how to succeed internationally and why it’s beneficial to be on different markets, to how brand building has increased importance also for makers of classic shoes and of course about Brexit.
Listen to the episode below, or in your preferred podcast player. All episodes of the Shoegazing Podcast can be found here.
As someone who works with people teaching them about how to release tension in the feet, how the feet work anatomically, what impact good foot health has on the whole body, my heart sinks when I see rows of beautifully crafted footwear that is not designed for the true anatomy of the foot. It’s crazy, sheer madness. WHY make something that doesn’t follow the shape of the foot. Gloves are designed for hands, why are shoes not foot shaped?