here . for the animal see wallaby . for persons named clark see clark . c. and j. clark international ltd trading name clarks type limited company industry retail founded street england 1825 1825 founder cyrus clark and james clark headquarters street somerset england area served worldwide products footwear revenue 1 492m 2015 operating income 129 m 2015 number of employees 15 380 website www.clarks.com c. & j. clark international ltd trading as clarks is a british 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 . 1 more than half of its 1.4 bn 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 . 2 it is 84 % owned by the clark family with the remaining 16 % held by employees and related institutions . 1 the company is best known 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 . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 1825 1862 rugs slippers and prizes 1.2 1863 1903 riding the storm 1.3 1904 1945 style technology and foot measuring 1.4 1946 1995 growth and challenges 1.5 1996 present worldwide growth and a global brand 1.6 clarks companies north america ccna 2 products 2.1 joyance sandal 2.2 desert boot 2.3 wallabee 2.4 desert trek 3 in popular culture 3.1 jamaica 3.2 mods and paris riots 3.3 rappers 3.4 breaking bad 4 references 5 further reading 6 external links history edit 1825 1862 rugs slippers and prizes edit cyrus and james clark the founders of c & j clark ltd. the brown petersburg 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 . 4 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 . 5 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 . by 1828 as the business had grown cyrus appointed his younger brother james 1811 1906 as an apprentice . 6 educated away from street james was meant to be apprentice to a chemist in bath but successfully pleaded with his parents to let him stay in street and help cyrus . 7 in 1828 1829 whilst serving this apprenticeship james began utilising the offcuts that were too short for making rugs to produce slippers known as brown petersburgs . 8 the slippers were made using outworkers who collected materials from the factory assembled footwear in workshops at home and returned the finished product for payment . this trade rapidly evolved providing james with a legitimate claim to an equal partnership in the business when his apprenticeship was served in 1833 . 9 thereafter it traded as c. & j. clark . the brothers developed national and international trade ireland in the 1820s canada by the 1830s australia in the 1850s and were notably innovative winning the gold medal at the great exhibition in 1851 for their gutta percha elongated galosh . 10 11 1863 1903 riding the storm edit the tor stamp was used as a mark of provenance and quality by c & j clark ltd. since the beginning . it represents the distinctive glastonbury tor with st. michael s tower on its summit that dominates the landscape visible from the clarks headquarters in street somerset . registered as a trademark since 1879 . a vintage image of the sewing room in one of the clarks factories a couple of bad years that combined volatile market conditions a certain lack of financial rigour and questionable planning brought the business to the brink of bankruptcy in 1863 . 12 the local quaker community stepped in and part of the bailout deal was the nomination of james eldest son william stephens clark 1839 1925 to the helm of c. & j. clark . 13 william clark put in place an accelerated repayment plan that saw indebtedness drop considerably to 1873 when he became a partner in the business with his father james . 14 for the first time in britain william mechanised the shoemaking process and went on to establish c. & j. clark both as a pioneer of new technology and as a champion of footwear innovation . james withdrew from the partnership in 1889 to be replaced by his son francis william s younger brother . 15 in line with the family s quaker values the capital was also extended beyond the factory to benefit social initiatives in street a school was founded so that young men and women could combine working in the factory with continuing their education a theatre was opened a library was built along with an open air swimming pool and town hall . playing fields were established for the benefit of all and low cost housing was provided by the company for its employees . 1904 1945 style technology and foot measuring edit an employee carefully packing some of the premium clarks tor products in 1903 the partnership arrangement was discontinued in favour of a private limited company . this enabled the succession to the third generation of family members as children of william stephens clark became life directors alongside francis and himself . tasked with specific responsibilities alice clark john bright clark and roger clark developed distinct roles . 16 brothers john bright and roger clark studied american making processes and techniques with a view to appointing a suitable candidate experienced in the american factory system that they might bring to street . john walter bostock from lynn massachusetts was recruited in 1904 . the implementation was a resounding success and bostock was made a director of the company in 1928 . 17 a london office opened in the west end in 1908 supplemented the shoemaking knowledge with style information . 18 a reputation for high quality goods available in the latest fashions was established in the early 1910s and remained until the second world war . a premium quality tor range was produced on the principles of standard lines followed by a range of affordable fashionable footwear called wessex . 19 the company had its first national press advertisement in 1934 and entered formally into retailing in 1937 through the acquisition of abbotts chain of shops based around london and the provinces . peter lord was created by hugh bryan clark as a retail brand to avoid alarming agents or alerting competitors to the company s activities . it steadily evolved into a national network of stores . growing awareness that bad feet were the product of ill fitting shoes determined bostock to devise a new shoe fitting system based on the detailed analysis of thousands of foot measurements taken from local school children . in line with the findings the company launched its new children s ranges in 1945 with a choice of four width fittings simultaneously with the new clarks footgauge that acted as a scientific measuring instrument to aid the shop assistant . 20 1946 1995 growth and challenges edit nathan clark holding a desert boot . expansion of the business post war was largely initiated by fourth generation family members bancroft clark appointed managing director and chairman in 1942 and his cousins anthony clark and peter clothier accountable for sales marketing and manufacturing respectively . 21 the start up or acquisition of additional manufacturing facilities peaking at 17 domestic factories across the south west and south east of england and south wales meant that the company s volume market share in the uk increased from 1.1 percent in 1945 to 9 per cent by 1970 . 22 foreign manufacturing was also sought through agreements with existing domestic manufacturers ireland in the 1930s with australia canada and south africa added in the 1940s and 1950s . nathan clark younger brother of bancroft negotiated a number of these agreements in his capacity as overseas manager until 1952 . 23 bancroft retired in 1967 . his son daniel clark succeeded peter clothier as managing director in 1973 with anthony clark remaining as chairman . 24 he retired in 1974 when his son lance clark was appointed managing director of the manufacturing and wholesaling division . in 1974 clarks bought the fashionable ravel pinet and mondaine . the company acquired k shoes based in kendal cumbria to salvage it from a hostile takeover . 25 the closure of factories started in 1978 and continued throughout the 1980s . daniel clark resigned in 1986 replaced by john clothier son of peter who remained ceo throughout the turbulent buy out negotiations with berisford international plc a properties commodities group that attempted to take the troubled company public . 26 while the proposal was defeated by shareholders at the egm convened on may 7 1993 it was also decided to move away from direct family management to professional managers who would rationalise the business and would be more comfortable with making the changes needed for its recovery . 27 28 29 1996 present worldwide growth and a global brand edit clarks store in lakeside shopping centre in essex uk the appointment of tim parker as ceo in 1996 was made on the initiation of the newly elected chairman roger pedder . clarks format was radically changed with the act your shoe size not your age campaign in 1997 which contributed to a freshening of the brand . 30 completion of the transition from manufacturing to a wholesaling and branded retailing business was conducted by parker s successor peter bolliger who became ceo in 2002 . 31 closure of the company s remaining manufacturing interests meant that the last clarks uk factory ceased production in 2005 followed by the last k factory in 2006 . 32 33 34 production was relocated off shore using third party factories predominantly located in asia . transformation of retail and investment to modernise company infrastructure and systems was also completed . street consequently remains the epicentre for company operations a distribution facility having been constructed in the town in 2005 with the capacity to process 1 million pairs of shoes per week . 35 former ceo melissa potter who was appointed in 2010 re organized the business in four regions americas asia pacific europe and united kingdom & republic of ireland from february 2013 the re launch in china the move into india the launch of the online business and the increased focus on building a global brand . 36 melissa potter stepped down as ceo in september 2015 . non executive chairman thomas o neill is leading the business until a replacement for potter is appointed . 37 clarks companies north america ccna edit clarks desert boot vintage us press ad from the 1950s the history of c & j clark s representation