Shoe business

News – Tricker’s goes towards a D2C setup

2025-10-08

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The British shoe manufacturer Tricker’s recently had a new majority owner in James Fayed of the Fayed family, and now they are heading in a new direction as a company by taking home more and more of their sales themselves, with more focus on direct-to-consumer business.

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News – EU-Indonesia free trade agreement

2025-09-24

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The European Union and Indonesia have signed a free trade agreement that will remove 98% of all duties in both directions immediately after it’s been implemented, which is expected to be next year. In the quality shoe world there’s a big potential for more of the fine handmade boots and shoes that are made in Indonesia will be sold by European retailers.

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Reflection – Why U.S. removal of the de minimis makes sense

2025-09-14

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Now American customers have to pay customs and duties on all orders from abroad, also those below $800, as the de minimis exception has been removed. A big change for many US citizens who were used to the favourable rules, and also for many shoe companies in especially Europe and Asia who sell a lot to America. However, the termination of de minimis actually makes a lot of sense. But it’s messed up by other things.

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Reflection – Are D2C shoe brands a dying breed?

2025-08-05

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Looking back five or ten years almost all new shoe brands were so called D2C brands, Direct to Consumer, and often made a big point of being such. Now it seems like the pendulum is about to swing as many of these brands ditch their original set-up and also use traditional retailers. Are D2C shoe brands becoming a thing of the past?

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Reflection - How the US tariffs will affect the shoe world

In-depth

In-depth – How the US tariffs will affect the shoe world

2025-04-04

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This week the Trump-administration in the US has stirred up a lot of uncertainties domestically and internationally with their new wave of proposed tariffs. In this article I go through how this will affect shoe industry, and also straighten out some common misconceptions. In short: American companies selling shoes made abroad will likely need to raise their prices, in some cases a lot, while private individuals buying shoes from abroad will still have no customs if price is below $800 and products aren’t from China or Hong Kong. For now.

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News – British rubber sole manufacturer Itshide closed down

2025-01-12

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The saga of one of the classic British sole manufacturers seems to be all. The owners of Itshide, perhaps most famous for their Commando rubber soles, has gone into liquidation, and all things points to this being the end for the over 100 years old Northampton-based company.

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News – The Sargent factory closed again

2024-10-24

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Three years ago the Alfred Sargent brand went into liquidation, and from that the Paul Sargent brand emerged with the same factory, models, lasts and so on. Aim was to finally give a Sargent brand the attention it deserved, but sadly, things has not gone as planned. Now the factory in Rushden, Northamptonshire, is once again closed, and all workers have been laid off.

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Reflection – Accept more blemishes on leather

2023-12-10

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Stricter animal welfare regulations in the European Union have changed the conditions of the skins that the tanneries receive, which in turn means that we customers need to change our mindset on what is a good skin and what is not. In this article I explain this further.

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Reflection – The importance of unique shoe styles for retailers

2023-11-21

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