On leaving school at eighteen I had a feeling that I wanted to go into the family business but it wasn’t a very attractive proposition because like anything run for several generations the ownership was very fragmented and in those days The Golden Boot tended to focus on quantity of pairs sold as opposed to quality of the product.
After a period of some months travelling around Europe especially a period spent in Rome and Florence I was captivated by the colour and delicate styling of shoes on offer in quite ordinary shops……it made the average English high street look very tame.
On my return I was determined to make a difference so I enrolled at The Cordwainers College London the premier shoe design college in England. What a cultural shock Bethnal Green High Street was. People of all backgrounds, vibrant and fun welcome to the swinging 60’s and living away from home in London.
The Cordwainers was a three year design and manufacture course with a final year of pure design. On completion of the course with the equivalent of a 2/1 I realised I was not good enough to progress in the design world but I knew shoes and got a real kick at selling things as I had had a Saturday job during the time at college.
The Golden Boot at this stage was having a major rebuild and a children’s only shoe shop had been added. Still not totally convinced that there was a job for me it was decided that under Clarks Shoes I would join their customer training program. Starting in Peter Lords Regent Street followed by Kensington and then for a long spell at HENRY MASSINGHAMS IN BRISTOL.
Still not sure, I joined Clarks window and shop design division which gave me the opportunity to see what many other retailers were up to and if I joined the family firm what direction the company should go in.
Out of the blue my fathers business partner, his brother, expressed a wish that he was looking to retire in the next couple of years which meant either the business would have to be sold or I should go into it. At the time we had a close friend who was our accountant who worked out a clever package that meant the business could be kept in the family and the shares would be in my fathers and my name, but the properties would be owned by the rest of the family.
I joined the company vowing that all the property and ownership would eventually end up in my hands and if I had a son wanting to make it the seventh generation he would not have to spend his working life clearing debt but to expand The Golden Boot into England’s oldest and finest footwear business.
Edward joined the business in 2004 and together we have grown the business and diversified into different brands and product with a dual aim of creating a shoe heaven. Seven generations on I am so excited as to what’s in store for The Golden Boot.
