Start
The way he entered dress shoe industry is very grassroots, he did not start by working in a factory, but he took another very civilian route.
After he developed interest in dress shoes, he often bought classic shoes on Ebay, tried them and sold them, so back and forth, he had a deep understanding of dress shoes, and then found that the brand Vass, although very well-known, but there were few sales channels, even in Europe, most countries cannot find place to buy.
He contacted Vass, got the agency rights in Europe, and stocked some other brands then founded the online store Jeeves.
Jeeves wa quite famous in Europe.
Sons of Henrey
After representing many brands, Tom felt that many classic styles are very expensive, especially those made in the UK, so is it possible for him to provide the same style and leather quality with better price?
While running Jeeves, he joined the Albaladejo family business, where he learned more about the business. Including factories in Spain, tanneries in various European countries.
When he was ready, he shut down Jeeves and decided to start his own brand.
So how did the brand name come about?
He was suggested to use the name Jeeves, but he felt that Jeeves represented other brands, and this was his own, which was not appropriate.
When he had dinner with his father, he asked his father’s opinion. His father walked back to the study and pulled out a picture of Tom’s great-grandfather, Henrey, a shoemaker who opened a shoe shop on a street in Belgium. So, the name was so happily determined.
Adventure
According to Tom, it seems that the tannery is relatively easy to handle, as long as you know the contact, buying leather is not a big problem, but whether factory is willing to work with a start-up brand is a big question.
Fortunately, during his time in Spain, he established contacts with many shoe factories in Almansa, the Spanish shoe capital.
He visited various shoe factories in Almansa, many of them refused to produce for new brands, and many of them were willing to cannot meet his requirements on shoes. Finally, he found one manufacturing for many international fashion brands.
The development of lasts was entrusted to English company Springline in Northampton, the only one in the UK today. The lasts are indeed classic and elegant.
A Hit
Sons of Henrey’s shoes did not hit the market until 2018, but they immediately gained a huge backer in forums like StyleForum. There are many GMTOs, and this kind of support is very important for newly established brands.
In addition to being confident in the classic elegance of his British style, Tom also has his own opinion of the factory’s employees. These factories receive a large number of orders from fashion brands, but the factory workers are more willing to make his orders. Because the leather he brought was obviously higher than the others, and his shoes made the workers feel proud of their work.
