British footwear group Clarks lost its way under previous managers, but has the “brand and relevancy” to recover and eventually rival Dr Martens and Birkenstock, according to its chief executive.
Victor Herrero became Clarks’s sixth head in as many years in February following a £100m equity injection from new investors Lion Rock Capital and Chinese entrepreneur Li Ning. The transaction resulted in the Clark family relinquishing control of the company it founded almost 200 years ago.
Herrero, who previously ran US fashion label Guess, said Clarks, which went through a heavy restructuring last year, had been suffering from a “lack of drivers”. “Nobody was moving forward with a strategy in place. There was no urgency or desire to evolve the brand”.
“The team is controlling the company now. I am the first CEO and executive chair with skin in the game,” he added. Herrero is also an investor in the business.
He told the Financial Times: “We have iconic brands, like the desert boots and wallabees . . . Global brands will be the winners after…
