Cheaney has more than doubled their turnover and earnings the past decade, after Jonathan and William Church took over the company and moved it away from private label production to producing shoes under its own name, and also selling these themselves to a larger extent. Hear about this topic, the Prada buyout of Church’s, Brexit and more in episode 10 of the Shoegazing Podcast.
Jonathan Church.
This podcast was recorded at the Micam shoe fair in Milan, Italy, back in February (before the coronavirus situation was shaking the world). In this episode we’re meeting Jonathan Church, one of the owners of the British firm Cheaney & Sons. Jonathan has worked in the footwear industry for three decades, first in the firm bearing his family name, Church’s, later with Cheaney. Cheaney was one of the last Northampton based shoe factories to transcend from focusing on Private Label to sell shoes under their own name, which they did after Jonathan and his cousin William Church acquired the company in 2009. As mentioned, it has resulted in a massive increase in both turnover and profits. Our talk focus around this topic, but we also talk about his experience of the Prada takeover of Church’s, about Brexit, and more.
Listen to the episode below, or in your preferred podcast player. All episodes of the Shoegazing Podcast can be found here. If you like the podcast, please give it a good rating or comment in your podcast player.
I enjoyed listening to this podcast. I learned a lot about Cheaney’s history and Church’s takeover by Prada. I like the was Jesper interviews: he asks questions that probe a bit and get to the real issues (for example Jonathan Church’s thoughs about other European shoemakers, and Brexit); but he also gives the person being interviewed room to answer fully. Nice Job Jesper. I am listening, whilst in Coronavirus lockdown, my wife looking on quite bemused….she is beginning to accept my interest in men’s quality shoes 😉
Anthony Jones: Thanks a lot for the kind words! I’m glad you enjoy the podcast. Think this episode turned out fine, perhaps I would have liked to ask him also about the criticism against Church’s quality declining after the Prada purchase, which some state, though since he hasn’t been at the company for 11 years and it’s not where he work now, he didn’t want to talk too much about that topic which I surely can understand. Will save those for when I talk to a Church’s representative 🙂
Very interesting talk. Mr. Church sounded focussed and knowledgeable about his industry and had a definite vision for the future. If I worked for Cheaney his talk would give me confidence. I do have Cheaney footwear which I like. I remember they had a joint offering with Marks and Spencer at a time when Marks were offering better quality. They also provided footwear for a fine London shoe store – now sadly closed – Martin-Stone. One question I might have asked though, is why Cheaney often supply laces that are too short with their boots.
Hello,
I can’t find the podcast link on this page and all other similar pages. Is there something I am missing?