The sale of Russell & Bromley is a symbol of the challenges facing independent heritage brands

The UK heritage shoemaker Russell & Bromley has been bought by high-street clothing giant Next. Despite the brand’s rescue from administration, dozens of jobs will be lost in initial redundancies, and there are rumours that more than 30 shops could close. As one of the few independently owned footwear brands left in the UK, the sale spells another loss to the industrial heritage of the British footwear industry.

The closure of fashion^[1] stores is nothing new, and the gradual demise of the British high street^[2] has been well documented. In fact, research in 2021^[3] revealed that the fastest-declining sector on the UK high street was fashion retail. Shifts in consumer behaviour driven by online shopping, alongside fast fashion^[4], placed inevitable pressure on independent, mid- to high-end stores like Russell & Bromley.

With so much competition (particularly in the context of footwear, where many clothing retailers and supermarkets have added shoe lines^[5]), staying relevant has become even more challenging.

What set Russell & Bromley apart was its long history. It was founded in 1880 in Sussex and continued under the leadership of five generations of the same family. It has a strongly defined heritage as a British independent brand, with a focus on craftsmanship and understated luxury.

It has also been a favourite of the Princess of Wales^[6], which guaranteed the brand further endorsement. More recently, another brand linked to the princess, LK Bennett^[7], was sold to the owner of Poundland^[8]. LK Bennett^[9] was founded in 1990, also as a high-end shoe retailer, later branching out into clothing as well.

The Russell & Bromley sale followed the announcement that heritage sports shoe brand Gola had been acquired by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni^[10] – a response to booming sales^[11] in retro trainers. Gola, too, has a long history. It was founded in Leicester, once a centre for British shoemaking^[12] in 1905^[13], making it one of Britain’s oldest sportswear brands.

Read more: The history of sneakers: from commodity to cultural icon^[14]

Its origins were in making football boots, but in the 1960s the brand took off with its Harrier style being favoured by football fans^[15], and its later endorsement by celebrities including Liam Gallagher and Paul Weller^[16]. But in recent years, Gola struggled to compete with the powerhouses of Nike and Adidas.

The cases of Russell & Bromley and Gola exemplify the challenges of maintaining independence in the complex global footwear industry where conglomerates are taking a dominant stance. The brands’ change in ownership highlights the transformation of what was once a flourishing footwear manufacturing and retail industry.

The 1960s was the heyday of fashion retail^[17] on the British high street with the emergence of boutiques like Mary Quant’s Bazaar^[18] and the advent of Topshop in 1964^[19], which brought a new, younger consumer.

Footwear retailers were always a staple on the high street, with brands like Dolcis^[20], and Lilley and Skinner^[21]. Both were part of the Leicester-based conglomerate the British Shoe Corporation^[22], and alongside Clarks and Russell & Bromley they captured the footwear retail market.

But the UK’s fashion footwear retail industry started to decline in the 1990s with the closure^[23] of the British Shoe Corporation and its huge portfolio of stores.

This decline in shoe retail followed a significant change in the UK’s footwear manufacturing industry. While Northampton^[24] remains a centre of excellence for men’s footwear manufacturing, shoe factories in Leicester^[25] started to close from the 1980s. They could no longer compete with the prices and volumes of manufacturers^[26] in Brazil, India and China.

Recently, China has taken the lead^[27] in global shoe manufacturing, adapting the traditional skills and craftsmanship with technical advances and the ability to produce high volumes.

So where does Next fit into this picture? In 1982, the Midlands-based clothing company opened its first womenswear store and by 1988 had launched the Next Directory^[28], which introduced home delivery. Consumers no longer had to go to separate shops to find shoes to match their outfits – suddenly it was all available in one place.

It was not just Leicester that suffered the decline of its footwear industry. London also had a long history in shoemaking^[29], but failed to weather the competitive landscape. The 1990s saw an increase in international brands and retailers^[30] entering the UK retail space, placing further competition on domestic brands.