Following a successful turnaround in 2025, Clarks is focused on store openings in 2026.
The U.K.-based firm said it returned to profitability in 2025 for the first time in two years with better-than-expected results. The company said it “expects continued momentum across the business as it continues to be relevant in many global markets.”
The company posted an after-tax profit of 31.1 million pounds against an after-tax loss of 39.3 million pounds in 2024. Group revenue was 871.5 million pounds in 2025, down 3.3 percent from revenue of 901.3 million pounds in 2024.
Clarks said the net pairs sold for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, was 29.5 million, versus 29.0 million sold in the prior year. In addition, inventory level fell to 266.1 million pounds at the end of 2025 versus 269.6 million pounds at the end of 2024 as the company reduced its aged inventory balance. The company also ended 2025 with cash at 48.4 million pounds, up from 2024’s level of 39.1 million pounds.
For 2026, the plan is to grow share through targeted business development and expansion in new markets. Clarks said a program of new store openings globally “is underway” for its full price, outlet, Original and Cloudsteppers stores. It also expects to grow distribution points in both existing and new markets and is working with new partners in India, Australia and Mexico. In addition to expanding its digital marketplaces, Clarks will also launch its first-owned marketplace in the U.K. on clarks.com.
In a publicly-filed report in the U.K., Clarks said reducing structural overhead costs contributed to its return to profitability last year, which included reductions in information technology, logistics, people and product costs.
Last year also saw the hiring of Victor Herrero as co-CEO of Viva Goods, Clark’s parent company. Herrero also took on the role of interim CEO of Clarks in June.
“Externally, we faced sustained pressures arising from unfavorable global market conditions. Shifts in U.S. trade policy pushed tariff levels to their highest point in nearly a century, driving up costs across international supply chains and injecting additional volatility into global financial markets,” the shoe company said. It added that rising wage inflation and ongoing energy price volatility intensified cost pressures on retailers. Consumer’s in turn became cautious in their spending behavior, leading Clarks and other retailers to focus on product and price.
The filing said the company introduced new “signature products,” such as the Solevana and Pace, to meet consumer demand for comfort-led, lifestyle footwear options. Lifestyle brand Cloudsteppers was launched last year, with its first standalone stores in the U.S. and Malaysia.
The company also took actions for tighter inventory control, “significant payment terms contribution to strengthen cash flow and liquidity, vendor reviews to optimize cost, and a restructuring of its logistics and distribution center network.”
Wholesale remained the company’s largest source of revenue, with the Americas the brand’s largest wholesale market. Margin in the Americas was impacted in 2025 due to “unfavorability of tariff policy and off-price deals.” In the U.K. and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), the wholesale market remained challenging as retail customers “cautiously managed their own inventory and cash position” to avoid having too much inventory against a weak retail backdrop. The APAC (Asia Pacific) business saw strong organic growth and aggressive expansion of points of distribution, with all regions trending ahead in 2025 with double-digit sales growth.
Clarks celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2025.
The shoe brand last year opened dedicated Cloudsteppers Concept stores in Shah Alam and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and at the La Palmera Mall in Corpus Christi, Tex. last December. It is slated to open 10-plus additional locations this year across Asia and the U.S.
RG Barry Brands has acquired substantially all of Green Market Services Co. Inc.’s assets, giving the licensed slipper businesses of Clarks and Timberland a new home.
And more recently, last week, Clarks was among the shoe brands listed as one of the top 30 list of creditors in the QVC Group Inc. bankruptcy. The listing said that C&J Clark America Inc. holds an unsecured claim of nearly $6.3 million. The QVC prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has a restructuring support agreement with the majority of its lenders, which provides for vendors and unsecured creditors to be “paid in full for all goods and services.”
Clarks in late 2020 initiated a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to cut rent on over 300 stores. That CVA also provided for the sale of a majority stake in the company to Hong Kong-based LionRock Capital for 100 million pounds. The sale ended family ownership of the footwear brand after 195 years, although they still hold a stake in the business.
