
Few brands have reached the century mark, let alone the two-century mark. Even rarer: original family members who are still involved in the business. That’s Clarks, founded by brothers Cyrus and James Clark in Somerset, England, in 1825. Their first shoe, a slipper crafted from sheepskin offcuts, minimized waste. As the company’s website states, it combined “innovation, conscientiousness, and craftsmanship—core values that set us apart then, and now.”
Those values are baked into Clarks’ DNA, and they align well with the founders’ Quaker family roots. Quakers believe that everyone is equal regardless of race, gender, and other factors—a universal embrace that is reflected in Clarks’ broad consumer base. Fans run the gamut from fashion-forward teenagers and twentysomethings (think its Originals sub-brand) to soccer moms and dads sporting its premium Artisan styles to Boomers who’ve been Clarks loyalists at every stage of their lives. Similarly, Clarks’ brand elasticity stretches across a broad spectrum of retail channels—from $200-plus collabs sold in the trendiest sneaker boutiques to its below-$100 Cloudsteppers collection, carried by leading big box chains and department stores. Clarks is, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln and noted friend of Quakers, a brand of the people, by the people, for the people. Such egalitarian qualities are extremely rare—and worthy of celebration. And Clarks will be celebrating all year, recognizing its 200th birthday with special collabs, in-store events, new product launches, marketing campaigns, and internal efforts to rally the team around one of the world’s most iconic shoe brands.
The company’s rich history and unique brand attributes give it tremendous growth potential, according to Gary Champion, president of the company’s North American division. Massive brand awareness coupled with strong consumer trust in Clarks’ shoemaking capabilities paint an even bright picture. “Consumers already know and believe in Clarks, which makes it a lot easier to play in different categories/lifestyles as well as grow our existing businesses,” says Champion. “It’s easier to be in the game and move our business forward, because the brand at the top of our pyramid is phenomenal and has been for 200 years.”
It also helps to have a solid reputation for treating retailers fairly, he notes. “This is a people business, and we genuinely care about the individuals we do business with—just like we care about our consumers,” he says. “That goes all the way back to our Quaker roots. We’re a people-oriented brand that treats everyone fairly and equally.”

Another reason Champion believes Clarks is poised for a growth spurt? He’s seen it before—during his previous 25-year run with the company. During that time, he rose through the ranks, from human resources newbie to senior vice president of sales. Champion and then-CEO Bob Infantino assembled one of the most well-oiled comfort companies in history. The North American division regularly eclipsed $1 billion in annual sales toward the end of that run.
Champion believes much of the foundation laid during that era remains intact, albeit weakened somewhat by leadership changes and the pandemic since his own return to Clarks in 2016. Things are stabler now, he says, as the company enters its second year under the majority ownership of Viva Goods (the remainder is held by the Clark family) with a new executive committee of company board members at the helm. “All the divisions are aligned, and there have been no big swings in direction like there were before,” Champion says. “Our committee has brought even more clarity to the delicate balance of being both a global and a regional brand. We’ve gotten a lot of complexities and costs out of the business while adding a lot of efficiencies this past year.”
The focus now is on growing the business, and Champion sees plenty of white space, like athleisure, as well as reclaiming brown space it once dominated. “There is no limit based on the strength of our brand,” he says. “It starts with rebuilding the foundation, which we’ve done. Now it’s about adding the building blocks for growth.”
Champion has high hopes for one block in particular: a product breakthrough in the athleisure category that will debut late this summer. Without giving too much away, he describes it as a premium product that approaches the athleisure world in a Clarks way and will carve out a space in the marketplace that the brand can own. “It’s the first step to announce who Clarks is in athleisure. Then it’s about growing the category from there,” he says, adding that the 200th anniversary provides ideal synergy for the launch.
“Clarks is a cool place to be right now,” says Champion. His goal is to make the most of it by helping the brand regain what he sees as its rightful position as a leading comfort lifestyle brand. All the prerequisites are there—a 200-year track record of quality shoemaking, iconic styles as relevant today as when they were introduced decades ago, widespread recognition among consumers. And who better to spearhead that effort for the brand in North America than a man who lives and breathes Clarks’ people-oriented values and boasts the broad industry knowledge and connections to navigate today’s competitive and unpredictable industry landscape?
It’s also personal for Champion. “I’m at a stage in my life where I’d like to leave a meaningful legacy and culture behind,” he says. “It’s a reflective time, and I can turn that into positive energy to help move Clarks forward.”
Champion is convinced that Clarks will live on for decades if nurtured and managed properly. And he relishes the opportunity. “That’s what jazzes me up every day, especially now that the headwinds are out of the business,” he says. “Now comes the fun part: rallying the team around our strategic vision to grow this business. It’s on us to take full advantage of the Clarks brand and the many opportunities in the marketplace.”
Happy 200th anniversary. Most everyone knows the name but how would you define Clarks today?
Clarks, first and foremost, is a casual comfort brand. That is the heart of our business. We can’t forget that, and we need to feed it from the value end on up to premium. Clarks is also a democratic brand with a diverse product offering and equally diverse consumer base. Few brands have as much elasticity, which stems in part from the consistency in our brand DNA and culture. People around the world know and trust what they get from Clarks, which is delivering tremendous value in terms of quality, fit, comfort, and style. It’s that Quaker approach that has been part of us for 200 years. Our people-first values have played a leading role in our longevity.

Any examples of how those Quaker values come into play internally?
Every person counts. Every person has a voice. We have an open-door policy. If you have an idea, you’re welcome to share it. Collaboration is key. There’s no punishment for making a wrong decision. Just learn from it and move on. It’s a people-oriented philosophy similar to how Quakers believe in treating all people fairly. That’s why we’re such a democratic and diverse brand. Our region sells about six million pairs of Cloudsteppers each season and we sell a ton of Originals at the other end of the spectrum as well as a whole bunch in between. Consumers can trust that Clarks makes their feet feel great, and that extends beyond just comfort underfoot. It involves having the right last, stitching, construction, etc. so there is no disruption to walking. There are many categories within that we address with this premise, be it dress, casual dress, casual, boots, athleisure, sandals, etc. It’s about interpreting our brand DNA into all those categories, and we possess the knowledge and experience to do it.
It sounds like a lot of work.
It is. But, like I said, we’ve been doing it successfully for 200 years. That’s a long time. Our mission going forward is to do more of the same, serving our established base of consumers while introducing and reintroducing consumers to our brand. It’s a balance. For example, we have a huge casual business with a loyal consumer following that generally likes like the way we’re designing those shoes. So how do we move them along with the trends but not lose them, while also attracting new customers. When we think of design, we think of speed, which is how fast can and should we get. That way we build the same level of trust and expectations with all our consumers. There’s a big white space of consumers who may have or haven’t heard of Clarks but currently aren’t wearers. We’re going after them.
It helps that Clarks already has a loyal following at both ends of the age spectrum, no?
It is rare, and Originals continues to perform well. We have a lot of excitement around that brand through collabs with Kith, Adidas, and various artists and other boutiques. We have handful on deck this year to make some noise around our anniversary. Overall, our team is doing a great job understanding that top tier customer. What’s also happening is a growing interest to take some of our Originals design elements to appeal to a broader youth audience that shops chains like Journeys, Snipes, PacSun, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. Originals might be cost-prohibitive for some, or they like the general look, but they don’t want the crepe sole. So we’re in the process of building out our Evo brand into a more commercial distribution. We currently have Evo versions of our Torhill, Wallabee, and Desert Boot without crepe soles. It’s a cool, youthful look at a more moderate price point. It’s also a totally different distribution than athleisure.
What are your goals for 2025?
We’re taking full advantage of this being our 200th anniversary—not only to our consumers and retailers, but also how we celebrate the milestone internally. A lot of events will be coming to fruition over the course of this year. We want to make sure that our team around the world understands what makes Clarks special. As far as business is concerned, one goal is to start aggressively growing our top line again. We got away from that story the past few years. But we have some interesting innovations coming back into the segment. Dawn Porto, our global head of product, has done a great job getting the right people underneath her that understand innovation, be it small aspects or entire collections. She’s been with Clarks for more than 30 years and has a clear view about what the brand is and who our consumers are. Another goal is building a story around our 200th anniversary and how it ties into our brand today. It’s a story about strong shoemaking capabilities and how we deliver quality, comfort, fit, and value at every price point. That’s what has kept us alive for 200 years. It’ll be told through social media, PR, and in-store. We want sales associates to talk about our 200 years of shoemaking, because we’ve learned a lot over that time. Clarks even made high heels back in the day in the UK. So our path to what got us here and what we’re all about is really interesting. The key is to tell our 200-year history concisely and powerfully.
What are some of the biggest challenges Clarks is facing now?
It’s getting harder to trade. There are less people to trade with, and there’s more competition in the industry. So we have to be really focused on who we’re after and how to go about doing so correctly. It helps to be a brand that’s already known and trusted, regardless of whether we have that consumer yet. Despite all that, it can be done. Look at the rise of Hoka and On over the past few years, for example. About 90 percent of that segment has been owned by three or four brands. Now there are brands taking meaningful chunks out of their share. Likewise, there’s an opportunity for Clarks to grab a share—in a way that speaks to our brand. We have to carve out a piece, because athleisure isn’t going anywhere. Another challenge: it’s harder than ever to capture the consumers’ attention amid the media onslaught that they’re facing on what seems like an hourly basis.
Do you sense the pendulum has swung so far to the sneaker side that consumers just might want to wear something else occasionally?
This whole athletic push came out of 2020. While sneakers aren’t going away, I think there’s a growing number of consumers asking themselves whether they want to wear sneakers everywhere they go. They want to wear different outfits, and non-sneaker styles go better with those. I see less yoga pants being worn everywhere than I did three years ago. This shift is also part of the success behind Originals, where we’ve been seeing consistent growth. There’s been a bunch of articles written in streetwear publications of late basically saying these are your next sneakers. Those consumers are also thinking about style alternatives outside of the sneaker world. How quickly that expands, who knows. But I sense a movement starting. Regardless, our job is to get consumers to think about alternatives to dressing that is more in line with our products and heritage. That’s what we’re trying to unlock now—casual styles that still feel like a sneaker.
The overriding factor to any challenge is fewer stores means it’s just harder to get on shelves.
It is for a lot of brands. But that’s where we lean on the strength of the Clarks brand. For example, we’ve always done a nice job with Journeys because of our Wallabee and Desert Boot icons. But Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, Bass Pro Shops, and PacSun…we haven’t always played in those worlds. I believe we have the brand recognition and capabilities to do that. We need to capture some of their open-to-buy with the right products, like Evo and our new launch coming late this summer, that we expect will generate sales that we can then build upon. It’s a challenge, but we’re working hard on it. It sure helps to start with a brand retailers and consumers at least already know and trust.
Brands oftentimes can gain market share not so much by what they’re doing right as much as their competitors are doing wrong. Agree?
Absolutely. Clarks’ initial build in North America was primarily due to the failures of Rockport. The open-to-buy that we captured along with the way we treated our retailers and what we delivered to consumers started clicking. We had a team of people that understood why, and fed that season after season. And the stronger we got, the weaker our competition got. That can happen again as not every brand is firing on all cylinders.
Is there room for meaningful growth within the comfort specialty channel?
Yes. One of the areas that was hurt most through all this leadership changeover at Clarks over the past several years was our premium offering for independent retailers. We’ve spent a lot of time and effort rebuilding that segment. Our Artisan sub-brand focuses on that, which is aimed at consumers primarily in their thirties who grew up wearing sneakers and are seeking alternatives for their wardrobes. Perhaps they wore our crepe sole classics in their youth but left the brand as their lives changed. We need to get them back by offering styles that meet their current tastes and needs built with our DNA of quality and comfort. I should note, though, the independent base has shrunk since 2020, which makes growth even more challenging. Our territory managers now cover five to six states when it used to be two to three to reach a similar sales volume because of the weaning out in that tier. Still, some powerful independents remain and who mean a lot to us.
I get an overall sense that 2024 was more challenging than even some of the pandemic years across the industry. Would you agree?
It was a messy year, for sure. There were months where we did well and months that weren’t so hot. Overall, it was hard to trade in 2024. The election and the economy affected how consumers spent.
Spending more on household staples and less on shoes?
Most athletic companies, aside from Nike that had internal issues, had a good year. But consumers shied away from other styles. It’s still hard to get people back into offices five days a week. So do they need office-appropriate styles? Can they wear sneakers to the office now? Do they just wear slippers around the house? It was just a struggle to get business running consistently. It’s why we focused our attention on cleaning up the overhead side of our business. We zeroed in on every line item to see if we could get unnecessary costs out. That helped us get through the year in a decent way from a profit perspective, which was a little over 2023. We now have clarity in how we’re running the business.
Better days ahead?
I sense a collective weight being lifted. There’s a sense of optimism in the marketplace and about the overall economy that could move the business forward. More so than last year, at least. Actually, we had a decent fourth quarter that continued into January. Our Macy’s in-store sales were up 24 percent.
So is the glass half full, or is there a hole in the bottom?
Oh, I’m always a half-full guy. (Laughs)
Based on the challenges that you’ve endured over these past few years, both internally and externally, you might be the poster boy for optimism. Many others would have long checked out by now.
Honestly, that’s part of the inspiration in my job. The inspiration isn’t about having to do it. I care a lot about this industry and our company. I want our employees and retailers to all succeed.
What are you most proud of?
Just that: protecting the Clarks culture that we’ve built to grow this business properly. We want to give every employee an opportunity to succeed—to have a voice, collaborate, and perform. My job essentially is to provide them the overall vision and direction, and take complexities out of that, to help them do their jobs. While we’ve gone through some turmoil over the past several years, our culture has remained intact. And the talent is here. As long as we have this great culture that everybody here believes in and understands what’s expected of them…that’s 80 percent of the win. The rest is execution. Every day I wake up with three items on my to do list: 1. Keep the vision going forward. 2. Bring clarity to the operation. 3. Get complexities out.
What do you love most about your job?
It’s always all about the people. I love managing and putting people in teams, having success, and creating opportunities for them to grow within our organization. That’s what I’m fighting for, and we’re all working hard on making it happen. •