Five generations of Timpsons have been
involved in the business that bears their name. Chief Executive
John Timpson is the great
grandson of the Founder, William Timpson, who at the age of 16 opened
his first shop in Butler Street, Manchester in 1865. William learned
his boot and shoe making craft in his native Northamptonshire, but
he soon realised that it took a week to make a pair of boots, but
only a few minutes to sell them. By 1869 William started trading
at 97 Oldham Street, which he rented for £200 a year.
This was the foundation of the multiple shoe business. He would personally sell
100 pairs of boots on a busy Saturday. He established a tradition of striking
displays. Days were spent painstakingly polishing and arranging shoes for the
windows until 97 Oldham Street became a magnet for window gazers, that William
would do his best to turn into customers. Expansion followed profits, cautiously
at first, but with increasing speed, shops were opened in other areas of Manchester,
Kettering and Liverpool, followed by the first Timpson Boot factory (a shed at
the bottom of the garden at the family home in Kettering).
The Company grew rapidly in the 1930’s
opening at least 10 shops each year. By the start of the Second World
War, the business had 189 shops and 11 shoe
repair factories with a large manufacturing plant making 17,000 pairs of shoes
a week. During the war, as a result of enemy action, the mens warehouse was destroyed
and the Company completely lost 9 shops and had severe disruption to 100 others.
In 1946 the Company renewed its vigorous development. Mr Will (now 66), and his
younger brother Noel, still had the enthusiasm and vision to create a rapidly
growing business. They were the entrepreneurs that established Timpson as the
name for shoes throughout the North of England and Scotland. In 1960, Mr Will
retired as chairman at the age of 80 - he was succeeded by his younger brother
Noel, who tragically died within weeks of his appointment.
When Mr Will’s son Anthony took over the Chairmanship, shoe retailing
was in a state of dramatic change. Charles Clore was building up the British
Shoe Corporation through the acquisition of Saxone, Lilly & Skinner,
Curtess, Trueform, Manfield and Freeman Hardy Willis. Despite the new
wave of competitiveness, Timpson continued to have a special reputation
based on good styling, value for money and good customer care. But throughout
the 1960’s, Britain’s industrial base declined and Timpson’s
strong emphasis on the North of England became a weakness. Competition
from Charles Clore was undoubtedly a setback to Timpson, but it did not
stop the opening of new shops and the improvement of existing branches.
The biggest
impact on Timpson shoes was the introduction of cheap shoes
by Marks & Spencer, B.H.S., Littlewoods
etc., and the trend away from conventional footwear to trainers.
This change in fashion and styling was largely responsible
for the closing of the North Park Factory. The debate about
future development led to disagreement in the Board Room and
as a result, Timpson was taken over by a retail conglomerate
called United Drapery Stores (UDS). Two years after the acquisition,
Anthony’s son John was appointed by UDS to run their
Timpson subsidiary. He, following in his family’s footsteps,
toured the 250 shoe shops and 170 shoe repair factories using
the same basic principle that had guided his Great Grandfather
100 years before.
John Timpson put his shoe shops back on the retail map by
taking up the cause of the customer and introducing a Code
of Practice that ensured everyone shopping at Timpson got a
fair deal. The customer care approach was a great success and
helped to substantially increase sales and modernise the shops.
In 1983, UDS was acquired by Hanson Trust and John Timpson
led a buyout team that acquired the Timpson business. Almost
as soon as he had achieved his ambition of buying back the
family business, John Timpson foresaw the problems that were
in store for shoe shops. Increased competition, cheap imports
and escalating High Street rents were all bad news for footwear
retailing.
In 1987, John Timpson took the hardest decision of his life
and sold the shoe shops to Oliver of Leicester, but retained
the shoe repair business. Since 1987 the business has changed
from a chain of heel bars to Britain’s Quality Service
People. The number of shoe repair shops has grown from 150
to 315 and the turnover has expanded from £12.5m to £40m.
Then in 2003 Timpson bought The Minit Group which included
Mister Minit, Supasnaps and Sketchley. Over the past two years
Timpson have looked at the business and the way the High Street
is altering and have sold on Supasnaps and Sketchley and now
have over 550 outlets in the UK and Ireland, we have retained
some of the Dry Cleaning units. We are currently developing
new service areas such as locksmiths, jewellery repair and
repair and alterations on clothing.
