SOCKSHOP is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-based specialist retailer of

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

and

hosiery Hosiery, (, ) also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the foot, feet and human leg, legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also ...

. Founded in 1983 by Sophie Mirman and Richard P. Ross, SOCKSHOP became part of the Ruia Group in 2006, and is now based mainly online, with stores in the

Manchester Arndale Manchester Arndale is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 1979, at a cost of £100 million. Manchester Arndale is the largest of the chain of Arndale Centre, Arndale Centres built ac ...

and The Lowry Outlet, as well as concessions across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Business history

Founding

SOCKSHOP was founded by husband-and-wife team Sophie Mirman (daughter of milliner Simone Mirman) and Richard P. Ross, a former colleague of Mirman's at speciality retailer Tie Rack; both Ross and Mirman had acted as retail directors before leaving to launch SOCKSHOP. Mirman envisioned a range of small shops selling only women's

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

, stockings and

, with the aim of customers being able to purchase socks and hosiery "as easily as they buy newspapers".Lohr, Steve, ''A "Silly" Sock Idea Makes Millions'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 23, 1987 Mirman, through her experience as a junior secretary at

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

and then later through its management training programme, had identified a need to buy stylish hosiery without having to hunt through large

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made ...

to find it, which at the time dominated the British hosiery market. With the assistance of a Government

loan guarantee A loan guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party (the guarantor) to assume the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. A guarantee can be limited or unlimited, making the guarantor liable for only a portion or all of the ...

programme for capital-short entrepreneurs, Mirman and Ross launched SockShop in 1983. SOCKSHOP outlets were purchased, many placed for their convenience on busy city streets, in train stations, subway stations and airport, and for their small size, with most having a floor space of between and no visible doors. Their stock featured bold colours, dramatic patterns and novelty designs in hundreds of styles. Prices were considered moderate at £0.99 to £24.99 per pair in 1987, with the priciest designs including gold-lace tights.

Early years

The first SockShop store was opened on the concourse of the

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

tube station. Though the business' original ambitions were modest, exceeding no more than four or six retail outlets, by 1987, there were 52 stores in the SOCKSHOP chain, with the business having become one of the fastest-growing speciality retailing businesses in Europe. Mirman had become the 188th richest person in Britain, and its youngest millionaire. In November 1987, SockShop (recently renamed as a company to ''Sock Shop International P.L.C'') opened three stores in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, aiming (as in London) towards walk-by traffic. One of these outlets was at the 42nd Street entrance to Grand Central Station, the same principle as behind the first British store's placement.

Administration to present day

A couple of years later, when

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

struck, Mirman and Ross discovered that their equity (worth £50 million in 1988) had become valueless, and were overwhelmed by debts. In 1990, the business entered administration and BDO Binder Hamlyn took over. 58 shops, including 17 outlets in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(14 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

alone) were closed down, and discussions were entered with interested parties to try to get new funding capital for financing expansion in Europe. Despite the closures, administrators recommended Mirman to be retained in a key role, praising her business acumen. In August 1990, the business, 85 shops, and the French subsidiary were purchased for £3.25 million (plus an injection of £3.75 million working capital) by a consortium backed by Scottish fund manager Murray Johnstone. The company was renamed ''SockShop Holdings''. Unsecured creditors and shareholders in ''SockShop International'' received no money from the sale. The chairman for Murray Johnstone Developments, Fred Dalgarno, blamed the expense of the US operation and over-expansion for Sock Shop's problems. Having shed the burden of their debts, it was planned that ''SockShop Holdings'' be expanded more cautiously. ''SockShop Holdings'' fell back into the administrator's hands a second time after becoming part of the Facia Group, a retail conglomerate of 850 shops and 80,000 employees that collapsed in 1996 with debts of £70m due to the fraudulent actions of its owner, Stephen Hinchliffe. It was subsequently acquired by the Tulchan Group. In 2003, SockShop (by then reduced to 13 stores across the UK) was bought for £3.9 million by the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

-based firm of Harris Watson Holdings. The firm collapsed a third time in 2006. The administrators, Poppleton & Appleby, were brought in on 25 January 2006 to try and salvage the dramatically reduced company. This third collapse was attributed to substantial losses as a result of a slowdown in

consumer spending Consumer spending is the total money spent on final goods and services by individuals and households. There are two components of consumer spending: induced consumption (which is affected by the level of income) and autonomous consumption (which ...

and a rise in running costs. In February 2006, following administration, it was bought by Osan Ltd which is a subsidiary of Ruia Group.

Online shop

Following the 2006 purchase, SOCKSHOP became primarily an internet retailer, and is based at Dove Mill in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. The online store, www.sockshop.co.uk, houses SOCKSHOP's largest collection, including socks, tights, hosiery, underwear and accessories from more than 90 brands – among them Falke, Pantherella,

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

, Sloggi, Happy Socks and Stance, as well as several of their own brands, including Pringle, ELLE, Heat Holders, Glenmuir,

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

, Workforce and Wild Feet. SOCKSHOP.co.uk boasts a wide and growing range of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

products, including socks and underwear.

Physical stores

SOCKSHOP has two main stores, as well as a number of concessions across the UK. SockShop Manchester Arndale

The Lowry Outlet

SOCKSHOP opened a store in The Lowry Outlet in 2014, selling a selection of socks from the company's own brands, as well as items from other companies within the Ruia Group.

Manchester Arndale

In 2015, SOCKSHOP opened a store in the

shopping centre in Manchester city centre. Located on the ground floor of the centre, the store sells a range of products from SOCKSHOP's own brands.

Charity work

Socks for a Cause

In 2018, SOCKSHOP launched its ''Socks For A Cause'' campaign, donating 20,000 pairs of socks to various homelessness charities in an effort to combat the growing problem of trenchfoot amongst homeless people, and to help tackle the homelessness problem in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. SOCKSHOP continues to donate socks, underwear and accessories to homeless charities across the country.

Pride socks

SOCKSHOP designed and launched a range of

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

socks in 2017, donating 20% from the sale of each pair sold to the LGBT Foundation, a Manchester-based charity which provides help and support for members of the LGBT+ community.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

1983 establishments in the United Kingdom Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom Hosiery brands Retail companies established in 1983 Socks