Grenson website

From another thread...

"It's always a pleasure to stop on a Saturday afternoon in this small shop in Geneva, no more than 2 or 3 customers at a time, Gary is always very knowledgeable about the shoes industry (he was mentioning Grenson closing completely the factory in England and moving to India - don't know if true, as also discussed in the Grenson thread)."

Can anyone "in the know!" confirm that this is the case and just what Mr Tim Little's plans are??
Doesnt seem very promising to me

I went on and liked the Christian boot, but they don't ship to the US

Originally Posted by Groover

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I don't know if the Rose line has been dropped, but, if it has, and we're left with whats on show then this once great shoemaker has succumbed to mass produced cheap imports. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

+1 -- this will be very disappointing. The fact that C&J models have been introduced into the Stuart's Choice line doesn't bode well for Masterpiece-quality offerings

Asked a couple of questions of Grenson and got the following reply, make of it what you will

Questions

Will the new website stock Rose line shoes and will you be offering the
Rose line at all?

Is the rumour true that no shoes will be made in England and all
manufacturing has been switched to India, and the Factory is to be
closed?

Answer

Thanks for getting in touch.

In answer to your question, the factory is very much alive and busier
than ever.

We have 2 collections, G1 and G2.

G1 is product that is made in our factory and is still sold through our
store in London, we also work with a number of other brands and stores
on various collaborations and exclusives which has been very successful,
the likes of Daks, Aubin & Wills, Rag & Bone, Albam, as well Selfridges,
Harvey Nichols, New & Lingwood, Bergdorf Goodman in the US and Beams in
Japan.

The G1 will be launched on the site but we don't yet have a date for
this, it will be Limited Editions and Exclusives sold through the site
and the Grenson Stores.

The G2 collection is sourced it is more affordable and we are selling to
a cross range of people but the Made in England and design underpin our
brand and we are very aware of the value.

I hope this answers your questions please let me know if you need
anything else.

Best Regards

Good to hear they're not giving up on the upper line(s) - two of my favorite pairs are from the Rose collection.

good work P.I Kev

Originally Posted by Saenek

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Good to hear they're not giving up on the upper line(s) - two of my favorite pairs are from the Rose collection.

This is not how I interpreted it.
They are resegmenting their brand, and who knows what exactly they will offer as part of G1.

I was just told by the factory that a new collection (Rose?) from their own factory will be launched next year. My understanding is that the Rose collection, or its equivalent, will be produced on a batch basis to third parties like Pediwear for re-selling. Minimum per order per style is 50 pairs (Edward and Chester are the new styles on offer in the Pediwear webshop).

Any ideas on the implication of this for Paul Stuart shoes that were previously made by Grenson? Maybe someone with a contact at PS can enlighten us about the fate of the Masterpiece line

ok, good news about the England factory. they can call it whatever they want. busier than ever is good news. small batches for boutiques is good news too, since it will lead to variety, as we have seen the last few years with alden. keeping pediwear stocked with standards is also good news.

thanks for emailing the grenson and sharing the response.

http://www.aubinandwills.com/Store/P...tion=003055072

Probably Rose. It's clearly difficult to occupy the 'middle' ground: quality stuff and ok stuff.

Like any high street, top-end does as well as the pound shop down the road.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...new-store.html

My understanding is that Grenson is no longer producing for Paul Stuart. And any Masterpieces available online is basically rebadged Grenson Rose shoes (with closed channelled soles).

Disappointed too not to see the Rose collection - it was what I was waiting for. I've been thinking about a pair of Alberts vs something similar in C&J.

The website, as I saw it this morning, has under the Factory section, a "How We Make Our Shoes" sub-section and it clearly describes a shoe manufacturing process. The assumption I think most reasonable people would make is that it is describing a set of processes that Grenson undertake in their factory.

I know that others have said that significant elements are not being made in England, and the email from Grenson posted here to kev777 states G2 (the only shoes advertised on the site at the moment) are "sourced". If that is true, then I find the website misleading and it does nothing to encourage my trust or interest in the company.

I want to support good British companies and especially Northampton shoe makers (my great grandfather was a successful leather merchant to the industry). The idea of authenticity is big in marketing right now and with the decent brands it always has been. "Heritage" marketing without the authencity stuff is just hollow spin.

It is common knowledge that Grenson's Rushden collection, as well as all the shoes listed in their webshop now, are made in India.

But I think there is no point for Tim Little (the man) to buy the company and its operations if they are not producing shoes in their Northampton factory.

Originally Posted by Groover

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Hey Kev!

IIRC the Tim Little Black Sole shoes were made to the Rose standards, but priced at £100 more, bargains could be had at sale time.

It would be great if the Masterpiece range (or equivalent standard) was started again. We will wait and see I guess... but lets hope so, it would be a tragedy for them not to.

I'm surpised these TL black sole made to Grenson standards passed under the radar (sold for 37 quid). I have them in brown and are decent shoes (made in England). As Groover is saying, their retail at £350 is £100 more then the Rose equivalent. Are they completely liquidating the TL lines?