Offical TRICKERS shoes and boots thread

[mvork]

Did C&J grow that much?

Ash made a video on Northampton brands. Indeed Tricker's aren't in a great spot, so I've been buying as much as I can. I doubt the 40-50% sales are helping them much though.

£6m or £7m in sales it seems is right on the cusp of affordability to operate the business. I would expect that all the sales are because they haven't flown off the shelf as well as they'd like - and you need cashflow to recoup the costs and to keep paying for people, leather, etc to make the next batch of shoes.

25% direct online sales in 2023, but I don't think any real change has been made in 2024 in the online market. There are a few mentions of the Trickers owners club but I'm not sure it does anything - and if I'm honest I cannot afford to be a frequent repeat customer.

 

[thelonius]

Maybe?

£700k loss in 2023 on £6m sales and £7m assets, and £1m in debt to pay in 2024 calendar year.

Grenson was similar sized sales.

Crockett on the other hand had £34m in sales and over £39m in assets. James Bond, and a serious retail push has been good to them?

Thanks for the info. Can you indicate your sources, I'd like to read more?

 

[mvork]

Gov.uk look up the company accounts at HMRC /companies house. Same place as Ash in the video

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

2029 will be Trickers 200 year anniversary - and there will be a fantastic "200th anniversary" collection as well as special editions by Trickers for you to buy and enjoy in all forms of suede, leather and shell. . . Think positive ladies and gentlemen. And start saving up.

 

[zippyh]

Tricker's business seems to operate as if they're from the bizarro world.

I love the shoes and have far far too many but I've only paid full retail for a handful and they were via GMTO so still actually at a bit of a discount. For the longest time, the most interesting Tricker's were special make ups for retailers. Nothing wrong with the standard models and everyone needs acorn Stows and/or Bourtons but they're kind of staid and boring. Those specials for retailers *always* went on sale. The Tricker's seasonal models would be okay if also kind of boring. Those also always went on sale from 3rd party retailers for even deeper discount.

A few years ago Tricker's seemed to have wised up and seemed to have discovered they could directly offer things with a natural welt like most of the retailer special usually had. Of course this is about when their retail prices really started to shoot up especially for US customers and they stopped taking off VAT for US. $1150 for comipel or whatever cordovan? Haha, no.

Every year they produce a myriad of models in as many leathers with a significant percentage being truly questionable. Are there really people who want blackberry or denim hydro nubuck? I remember seeing those and wondering how long before those end up on the outlet where they are now.

 

[Zsa Zsa]

Oh, Tricker's don't die. I havent had enough with their shoes.
Side note - yes, they should focus on natural leather welt and calf/shell/kudu leather & suede. I think these have many fans out there

 

[Ypuh]

Tricker's is definitely the brand I feel most for. Their leathers are great, and they offer premium quality in a casual style. From my understanding GYW footwear as a whole are on the up, but this is mainly due to (internet) brands from China, Portugal, Spain, Vietnam etc. Northampton brands are in decline (raising prices, Brexit, less online presence).

I'll try and buy some more from Tricker's factory shop or online store to at least make sure the cash ends up there directly, but won't pay full price. €700 for a pair of shoes is simply out of my price range. Receiving two pairs for that amount is already a lot for me, but can be rationalized.

C&J probably stay for a couple more decades, but generally their styles are slightly more formal. That also appeals to me, but you can find far more alternatives.

 

[ike_hiking_boots]

Are they struggling?

They most certainly are.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect a shoemaker to provide person-to-person customer service over the weekend. It's not like it's an urgent and emergency care unit.

Any retailer worth their salt would insure that they had someone to man the fort during a promotional period. It's not exactly time-consuming to answer an e.mail enquiry - oh wait a minute, it took them until end of day Monday to confirm what last the monkeys were on but somehow managed to completely ignore my question about whether I should consider sizing up. They're just plane lazy and my impression based on previous interactions is they generally have contempt for their customers and are duplicitous with their descriptions on the Factory Store. I've literally received shoes that were fit for the bin.

Not sure also why Ike is so upset with the brand. Just don't buy them if you don't like it. Not sure how ranting on a forum helps.

Not upset with the brand per se - I own Tricker's and enjoy wearing them but the management, brand direction and customer service is a whole other topic! Hardly a rant, all I've done is stated facts.

Yes, I'm a fan and yes they can improve their online presence, but inform them or let your wallet speak for you. Otherwise things like which lasts are used are quite easy to figure out. It's weird they don't include it on their factory shop site, but most models were previously on the main site where the last is listed.

FYI: The Monkeys currently sold on Trickers.com are on 4497 and the Monkeys on the Factory Shop are on 5402R. It's not weird, it's careless. I'm sure you're aware that many of the models sold on the Factory were made specifically for the Factory along with all the seconds, samples and fubar MTO cancellations.

 

[zippyh]

Trickers.com product description says the monkeys are on 4497 but if you search for “5402R” they come up as the “last 5402R collection”. I personally think they’re actually on the 5402R and it’s just sloppy copy editing for the website.

 

[DorianGreen]

Scotch grain landed..🥃
View attachment 2333549

Not a fan of monkeys, but these look very nice for some reason.

 

[thelonius]

Oh, Tricker's don't die. I havent had enough with their shoes.
Side note - yes, they should focus on natural leather welt and calf/shell/kudu leather & suede. I think these have many fans out there

I am sad today, and I'll be rarely happy. I was a handsome rover, but without more Tricker's...

 

[thelonius]

In fact, I always asked myself the question - when shoes/boots are able to last such a long time, like more than 40 years no problem, even with heavy wear - how the hell do these types of shoemakers survive anyway? I suppose people just can't have enough pairs and they continue to buy. If you consider the N'ptonshire shoe industry, until 1947 it was making boots/shoes for two thirds of the planet - police, armies, business people and men and women everywhere, so that output is understandable. But how can they survive now without introducing built-in obsolescence, crappy soles that last a couple of years, etc.? Which would just speed the death toll. I wonder (will find out) how Sanders are doing, as they have some other styles that seem to do well (high-top, etc).

 

[ike_hiking_boots]

Trickers.com product description says the monkeys are on 4497 but if you search for “5402R” they come up as the “last 5402R collection”. I personally think they’re actually on the 5402R and it’s just sloppy copy editing for the website.

If you read the reviews it's confirmed they're on 4497:

Wonderful green kudu leather, darker as pictured. Only 4 stars as it comes on 4497 last instead of original monkey boot 5402. with this wider and at toe more round. I took my standard 4497 size but was too small. Runs small imo. Really love the kudu imperfections.

Daniel B. 🇩🇪 Verified Buyer

 

[zippyh]

If you read the reviews it's confirmed they're on 4497:

Wonderful green kudu leather, darker as pictured. Only 4 stars as it comes on 4497 last instead of original monkey boot 5402. with this wider and at toe more round. I took my standard 4497 size but was too small. Runs small imo. Really love the kudu imperfections.

Daniel B. 🇩🇪 Verified Buyer

I doubt if he peeled back the sock liner to see if they were actually 4497. Many of the reviews state that they run small. Likely because they're on 5402.

 

[ike_hiking_boots]

I doubt if he peeled back the sock liner to see if they were actually 4497. Many of the reviews state that they run small. Likely because they're on 5402.

I think you're right. I tried your View Source method and 5402 is what comes up but I then noticed if you scroll further down the page - below the reviews - there's a big section that states it's 5402R:

LAST NO: 5402R​

This last has been developed for Monkey boots, and features are rounder toe shape and low heel. The size (length fitting) of Tricker’s footwear made on this last (5402R) is true to size, we recommend sticking to your regular UK Size. If you are unsure of your UK size, use our size guide to convert your known size to a UK size.