| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1829 |
| Founder | Joseph Tricker |
| Headquarters | Northampton, United Kingdom |
| Products | Shoes |
| Website | www |
R.E. Tricker Ltd, which trades as Tricker's, is a British footwear company established in 1829 by Joseph Tricker in Northampton. [1]
Tricker's produces men's and women's shoes and boots, as well as leather accessories such as belts and wallets. [1] It is best known for its heavy country boots and shoes, [2] and was one of several Northampton-based companies identified as having survived the downturn in British shoemaking between the 1970s and 2000s and "carved out a niche for themselves at the top end of the international shoe market" by The Telegraph in 2012. [3] The company was granted a royal warrant in 1989. [4] [5]
Tricker's factory in Northampton is a Grade II listed building. [6] Much of the film Kinky Boots was filmed in the factory. [7]
As of 2019, Tricker's operated several shops in the UK as well as a single store in Tokyo. A BBC story reported that 80 per cent of the company's sales were overseas, and it was considering opening other shops in South Korea and the United States. [4]
Tricker's closed its factory and shops in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time the firm had stopped producing shoes since it was established. [8] The closure of the factory was necessary on health grounds, as it was not practical for staff to practice social distancing in it. [9] Tricker's received a funding facility from its bank in May that year to enable it to be able to rapidly resume operations. [10]
In 2021 Tricker's employed 86 workers in its factory who typically produced 1,000 pairs of shoes weekly. [11]
During 2023 and 2024 Tricker's revenue decreased and the firm made financial losses. James Fayed purchased a 71 percent stake in Tricker's in May 2025 through his holding company, Blu Heartknot UK. The Barltrop family, who were the long-term owners of the company, will continue to be involved in its management. Following the change in ownership, the company announced that it would focus on a direct to consumer business model and deprioritise wholesale customers. At this time, Tricker's had 79 employees. [12]
