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COMPANY PROFILE


Name: Kevin Burton Company: Dunkelman & Son Limited Brands: Dasco, Kiwi, Bama and Saphir. Home Town: Solihull Family: Wife Gill and 2 daughters, Karen & Victoria.


Tell us about your company history. What’s the story behind the brands? Dunkelman & Son Ltd was founded by Freddie Dunkelman in 1946. The business started life in a small workshop in Battersea, initially making ice hockey sticks. (Freddie was a professional ice hockey player at the time and went on to represent England in the 1948 Olympic Games). In 1950 the company took its first steps into shoe care selling wooden shoe trees to cover the out-of-season period. This side of the business flourished as they began to diversify and develop their own products and by the late 1950’s shoe care had become Dunkelman’s core business. The Dasco brand name first appeared on


products during the 1960’s and Dunkelman became known throughout the trade as ‘Dasco the shoe care specialists’. In 2000 Dunkelman was appointed sole UK distributor of Kiwi and Bama. In February 2015, the Dunkelman family sold the company to Alma FRC, a family-owned French business with a similar long history in shoe care. Their brands include Saphir Medaille D’Or and Saphir Beauté du Cuir, La Cordonnerie Anglaise and Tarragó.


Does your range include other items besides shoe care? With the Dasco, Kiwi, Bama and Saphir brands, Dunkelman has an all-encompassing selection of applied shoe care to effectively protect, clean and renovate most types of footwear and materials. We also have an impressive selection of insoles, laces, shoe trees, bootshapers and other accessories. With the backing of the Alma group, Dunkelman & Son are in a position to offer the most complete range of shoe care and footwear accessories in the world. We also specialise in producing Private Label brands for many high street retailers.


Do you have a brand philosophy? Quality never goes out of style.


Where are you based and where do you manufacture? Dunkelman moved out of London to Desborough, Northamptonshire in 1965. A new purpose built factory and warehouse was completed in 1969, providing the manufacturing and distribution facilities needed to grow the business. We are still operating from here today.


How many people do you have working for you? Do you have a high turnover of staff? We currently employ around 40 people. Staff turnover is low. Many of our employees have been with the company for well over 20 years. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I handed out long service awards to staff members. One had been with the company for 30 years and the other for 40 years.


Kevin Burton (Sales Director) 12 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JANUARY 2016


How do you market your products? Do you use social networking? Training retail staff is something we have placed great importance on for many years. There is no better way to promote add-on-sales than for staff to be in a position to confidently explain product benefits to their customers. We also market through trade magazines. And of course there is our website, where information about the company and our products can be found. The site is regularly updated to bring you all our latest news. We are also currently looking into using social networking as a resource.


Any famous customers? Well, there are three names that immediately spring to mind. David Jason, Bob Hoskins and Frank Bruno have sent us signed photographs, acknowledging our products.


And the next step, any plans for the future, new lines etc? Product development has always been very important to us. Our products are continually being reviewed in order to meet the needs of today’s consumers, with the emphasis very much on performance, convenience and innovation. We have just launched Dasco’s new Ultimate Nano Protector and are currently working with Alma FRC to develop a range of products aimed specifically at the younger market ... so watch this space. We are also looking to take our brands to new markets globally.


How does the trade contact you? Firstly, our sales force maintains regular contact with all our customers. But people can always contact us by phone or by email, to place orders or to find out more about our products. Our sales department is always happy to help with their requirements.


Desborough, Northamptonshire, NN14 2PF. Tel: 01536 760760 Email: sales@dunkelman.com Website: www.dunkelman.com


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