NEWS
Grubs Boots celebrates 25 years G
rubs Footwear is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and the brand has been looking back and marking
the occasion with a special event at Bolton Museum this month. David and Jan Foster founded Grubs Boots in
the year 2000, but footwear runs in the Foster family, with eight generations crafting sports footwear since 1776 when David’s great, great, great-grandfather made some of the first cricket shoes! David is the son of the Reebok founder,
Joseph William Foster, and the great-grandson of J.W. Fosters and Sons founder, also called Joseph William Foster. Today, he is the company CEO and is training up his two daughters to take over the business. “We have tweaked the Grubs branding
to reflect our British heritage and family ownership,” David tells Footwear Today. “Our walls are covered in photography of our rich history, on which we continue to build. “Jan is Managing Director of Grubs in the UK,
my daughter Abi is Sales Manager for the north of the UK and handles many of our key accounts, and my youngest, Beth, heads up online sales and social media. For my part, I design and product manage the whole line alongside the rest of the team. I also run international sales and business development for our brands. “We are the only mainstream boot brand still in both family and British ownership – something we are immensely proud of, and that’s reflected in our brand communication.” David started making shoes at 17 at his
dad’s Reebok factory, before becoming the brand’s International Design Manager and then subsequently moving around the industry (and the world) working for other brands. Over the years he worked with the likes of the late Ron Hill and former middle-distance athlete Sydney Maree.
Upon setting up the Grubs brand, David said:
“We revolutionised the welly boot market. We spotted a gap in the market to revolutionise the old-style welly boots and now we sell them all across the world, with a factory in China distributing them to Australia and New Zealand among others.” To celebrate the company’s anniversary,
earlier this month Bolton museum ran a local history exhibition on the Foster family and its influence in the UK footwear market, specifically with Reebok and JW Fosters, and now Grubs. As well as plenty of historical artefacts and old shoe designs on display, the family – especially David and Jan’s Grandchildren – also enjoyed designing some new shoes! David added: “Maybe it’s British reserve that
has stopped us shouting about it until now, but many consumers don’t realise we are a British company; the aim is to drive that home, show our pride in our part of the world and our associated history without becoming too hung up on it.”
David Foster with his family
Is Ted Baker planning a return to the high street?
T
ed Baker is reportedly preparing to return to the UK high street, less than two years after shutting all its
stores following its collapse. According to The Sun newspaper, the
fashion brand is planning to open a new store in London early next year, although no further details have been confirmed. It would mark Ted Baker’s first physical
retail site in the UK since the administration of its store operator, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), in March 2024. At its peak, the business ran 46
standalone stores in the UK, employing nearly 1,000 staff. The final store closures took place in August last year, alongside exits from markets including North America and the Netherlands. Since then, parent company Authentic
Brands Group (ABG) has been rebuilding Ted Baker through a network of third-party partnerships.
6 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • AUGUST 2025
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