Clarks sees profits surge
06 September 2011 09:57
Shoe store group Clarks has bucked the gloom on the high street with a strong surge in annual profits and sales.
The Somerset-based firm saw profits leap above the £100 million mark in its last financial year according to accounts filed at Companies House.
C&J Clark recorded turnover of £1.28 billion, a 9.2% increase on the previous year, with European sales up more than a third and US revenues ahead more than 10%. The UK, however, is still its biggest market.
Clarks shoes are frequently popular with school children and the over-60s, but this has changed recently as demand for its desert boots surged. The product was name-checked in a rap song by Jamaican artist Vybz Kartel.
The company reportedly shared a £30 million dividend between 400 members, most of whom are in the Clark family, with the lion's share going to a small core led by Lance Clark, who control 25%.
The group has enjoyed strong growth overseas with just under one million pairs of Clarks shoes being sold in China during the year to the end of January.
Clarks also expanded into India for the first time, launching stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
The group – still three-quarters owned by the Clark family, who are estimated to be worth £165 million – was launched in 1825 when James Clark used sheepskin offcuts from his brother Cyrus' tannery to make slippers.
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