page_title: C. & J. Clark
section_title: 1996–present: Worldwide growth and a global brand
hierarchical_section_title: C. & J. Clark / History / 1996–present: Worldwide growth and a global brand
caption_attribution_description: English: A Clarks shoe shop in Southampton.
context_page_description: C. & J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British-based, international shoe manufacturer and retailer. It was founded in 1825 by 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 United Kingdom. More than half of its £1.4bn 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 marketing in China, where it has opened 400 outlets in partnership with local footwear retailers.
  It is 84% owned by the Clark family, with the remaining 16% held by employees and related institutions.
  The company is commonly 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.
context_section_description: 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.
  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. 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.   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.
  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.
  Melissa Potter stepped down as CEO in September 2015. Non-executive chairman Thomas O’Neill lead the business until 2017 when Mike Shearwood was appointed as the new CEO. Then following Shearwood's resignation in June 2018, Stella David was announced as In-term CEO. In February 2019 Giorgio Presca was announced as the new CEO, Stella David returned to her role on the board.
  In May 2018, the company announced that it would build a new production plant next to its headquarters in Street, Somerset. The £3 million factory would see the latest in robot technology and create 80 jobs and produce over 300,000 pairs of Desert Shoes per year.
caption: A Clarks shoe shop in Southampton, United Kingdom
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