In 2019 John White Shoes celebrated 100 years since the eponymous founder made his first pair of shoes. To mark the occasion, we worked with All Things Business to produce a double page article on the history of the John White brand.
Using our knowledge of John White we crafted a story that took readers from the brand’s beginnings to the present day. We opened with an amusing mishap we found in in John’s autobiography. We then quickly covered the brand’s achievements in World War Two before covering the business’s 70s and 80s heyday.
Our priority in this piece was to differentiate the historical John White brand with the modern one. The brand was relaunched in 2001 ten years after the original John White closed. We focused on how John White Shoes sticks to the founder’s principles, albeit with a different manufacturing model. We also used commentary from Stuart Parrish, John White Shoes director, to speculate on how John would have been at the forefront of modern selling trends.
Another priority was to reinforce John White’s commitment to supplying independent footwear retailers. At this time a number of competitors have stopped or reduced service to smaller retailers. We knew this gave John White an opportunity to expand operations in this market. All Things Business’s audience of small business owners was a perfect match.