clarkes air cushion

[derek]

does anyone know who does replacement soles for the clarkes active air range of soles, had a customer in with a pair on friday, split at the edge and needing complete new units, he said he tried timpsons but was told they sold the machinery and no longer do the repairs

[autolock]

derek are they the ones with a lip that is stitched through upper and they crumble ? try frank harvey

[derek]

yeah, thats the ones, do you have contact details for them?

 

 

cheers

[kobblers]

http://www.shoerepairing.co.uk/

 

Rick.

[derek]

frank harvey don't repair those soles with like for like

 

 

cheers guys

[autolock]

ive got a pair that i put on the stretcher need i say more

[Happy Dude]

i got a call from this gentleman yesterday, i've asked him to bring them in to see if there is anything we can do, he was a bit perplexed as to why timpson had lost the contract to do clarks shoes, i assumed it was because clarkes no longer manufacture in the UK and the replacement soles are not available, but i may be wrong, usually am...

[Count Muppet]

i think it was because of the soles, not enough styles available for the shoes being sent, so a lot were being sent back undone. would have been a fortune of wasted postage

[Hugh-Candoit (ENG)]

This promlem occurs with all Branded Footwear.

Let's take a fictiscious company named "Joe Braggs"

Braggs make a popular range of shoes whereby the sole units are replaceable.

6 different styles in sizes from 6 to 12 including half sizes.

13 sizes x 6 styles =78 variants have to be stocked for repair.

How many repairers want to stock 78 sole units?

Now comes problem number 2.. you can't purches a few pair of each sixe, you have to have a pallet load of each size. and each style.

Now you are talking 78 pallets of sole units.

Problem number 3 now occurs.... Braggs changes the styles every 12 months using different sole patterns that are not compatable with the old units.

 

So.. do you purchase another 78 pallets of new units from China!!!!!

What can you do with the thousands of old units as they are not recycling option!!!!!!

 

I'm at a loss as to why anyone would want to get involved in this area, I had this experience 25 years ago with an International brand and saw all of these problems first hand. There just is not the profit to be had when taking into account the set up and the loss on the disposale of materials and equipment afterwards.

I guess it gets lost somewhere in the Taxation figures submitted over the years.

 

Manufacturers/Retailers are not interested as they do not make money out of customers having shoes repaired. They have the staff/machinery/stock plus a very large workshop area neede for the servicing of branded shoes. Sell the rights to someone else then use the new found space for warehouse & distribution and make money out of it.

I was fortunate in that I was able to dispose of surplus stock by putting it in 4 dustbins each week until it had all gone, nowadays you would have to fork out a large wad of cash to have it disposed of.

One bright spark at the local tip approached me at the shop asking if I was interested in buying new sole units as he had hundreds of them!!! (he could not fathom out the sizing codes though).