Church’s, more UK and less Italy, with regards to production. The brand, which had a revenue of 70 million euro in 2019 and runs 62 stores, is owned by the Prada group. The brand seems to be ready to make a nationalistic choice: strengthening production sites in the UK, specifically Northampton, in England, which is currently shutdown due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Less Italy for Church’s
The brand manufactures classic dress shoes in England. The lighter and softer models, women’s shoes and sneakers are all made in Italy. The brand’s CEO, Anthony Romano, stated during an interview with WWF, that Church’s is trying to re-shore a larger portion of production to the United Kingdom.
Secure reopening by the end of May
Church’s is working to make its brand safe for employees so as to restart production by the end of May. But it will need to adjust production based the sales that will be made, in order to reduce unsold stock. Church’s revenue is split 70% retail and 30% wholesale. Mr. Romano expressed the need to begin producing again so that the brand may be able to deliver orders within the agreed time frame.
8 weeks for 1 pair
One pair of shoes by Church’s requires 250 manual steps and 8 weeks. At the same time, Romano says he is not in a hurry to bring production back to 100% capacity for the Fall/Winter 2020 collection, even if the brand is still to complete some previous orders. The main unknown is the trend of retail sales. “it’s a delicate balance” added Mr. Romano, who doesn’t want to see unsold stocks piling up. About 85% of the orders for Fall/Winter 2020 was already received and the CEO ensured the brand hasn’t had too many problems with cancellations, at least until now.
Image taken from church-footwear.com
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