Church’s, the British brand, recently increased their prices by 40-50% across their offerings. Within one night a pair of their Custom Grade Goodyear welted shoes had increased from EUR570 to EUR830 as part of their plan to enter new segments, likely leading them to lose many existing customers in doing so.
As soon as I saw a screenshot in Church’s thread on StyleForum showing their classic plain cap toe oxford model Consul priced at PS720 (EUR830), my initial thought was it must be some sort of IT glitch, but after retail store Herring Shoes sent a newsletter informing about new prices set to take effect across all Church’s shoes (in which prices eventually went up 40-50% overall) it became evident this was indeed their new deal.
Financial Times speculated in their article about Church’s likely positioning themselves for new customers by offering more fashion forward models, cemented Made in Italy shoes in their collections, etc. We can see some indicators that this might be happening through models coming out with more fashionable lines like Made in Italy cemented shoes being added and so forth. Since they operated out of Northampton factory, one could hope they would continue producing classic welted footwear as their foundation; their Crown Collection that launched several years ago further demonstrated this development.
Now, Prada appears to be turning Church’s into more of a luxury fashion brand by positioning them within a new category of pricing. Church’s existing customers who appreciate them as they were may find it unjustifiable to pay nearly 50% more for an identical shoe they purchased just a few years earlier. Crockett & Jones and Cheaney shoes may appeal more directly to these customers and many will opt for those brands instead of Church’s, perhaps more so in Northampton where Church’s has entered the more expensive price segment. Only time will tell whether Church’s can find its target market; losing another key player would certainly be felt by Northampton shoe industry as whole.
What are your opinions of Church’s new prices? As customers of theirs, will you continue buying?