Clarks sets a goal as a part of its new charter course: reaching Dr. Martens and go above it. Victor Herrero, sixth CEO of the brand in the last 6 years, believes that the company has the potential to achieve that goal. Specifically, he says that “the brand has the brand name and relevance” to make up the lost ground even compared to Birkenstock. Mr. Herrero has been outlining the early strategy to relaunch Clarks, after for the first time in history, it’s not owned by the founding family but by Lion Rock Capital.
Clarks sets a goal
Herrero explained to the Financial Times that Clarks has suffered “a lack of guidance”, because “nobody moved forward with a strategy in mind. There was no urgency or need to make the brand evolve”. Herrero, ex-CEO of Guess, believes that “global brands will be winners in a post-pandemic environment”. Clarks is strong thanks to its “brand name and relevance”, and must now “execute” its strategy.
The challenge
The transaction the brought ownership to Lion Rock valued Clarks at about 200 million UK pounds. Dr Martens is worth more than 4.5 billion, while Birkenstock is valued at 4.0. How will Clarks reach such levels? “We will leverage our strengths, offering comfortable simple shows – answers Mr. Herrero -. We will continue using the other lines to differentiate our product offering.
I want Clarks to be accessible to all consumers around the globe”. The manager’s priority is that of maximize both sales and profitability. But the most important challenge is changing the internal mentality of the company: “we will operate the same way a startup does, attentively managing costs and transforming our supporting functions”. Mr. Herrero believes in physical stores, in a recovery of the US market and, thanks to the new majority shareholder, a push on the Chinese marketplace: “We are very profitable here – he concludes -. But we can bring the company into another dimension, seen that the brand is perceived as premium and aspiring by Chinese consumers”.
Read also:
- Evolution rather than revolution: Clarks’ future according to Lion Rock
- Clarks’ revolution: the CEO Giorgio Presca is leaving (among others)
