Herring Shoes Journal

It has been a tumultuous year and there are still some tough months ahead but, as the Managing Director of Herring, I wanted to share information about some of the issues we have worked hard on this year.

Firstly, I am glad to say we have avoided making anyone redundant and we look strong for the coming year despite the huge hit that our sector of formal and luxury wear has taken. We have consistently offered a top-rated service despite all the challenges which is a huge achievement from all of our staff.

Secondly, I am proud to say that we have not forced discounts on any of our suppliers or cancelled any orders – we see ourselves as part of an ecosystem so we have tried to support everyone around us in the chain.

Thirdly, we have sent every parcel with carbon-offset since February and we now use a recyclable paper tape to seal our recycled cardboard boxes so that has lightened our environmental impact even further.

We have paid for more than 19,000 DHL shipments to be carbon offset, despite the harsh challenges this year, pressure on margins and so on, because we believe it is a really important part of what we do.

We will be sending a cheque to The Woodland Trust in January to offset the carbon from our 1,500 Royal Mail deliveries and we will continue to offset all our delivery carbon, whatever other challenges we face, in 2021.

Finally, we gave discounts to healthcare workers all around the globe of more than £60,000 during the height of the pandemic. Following on from that, we are now members of the UK Blue Light card scheme so a discount is now always available to those that work so hard to keep us safe.

I hope this makes it clear that Herring is more than just a shoe seller. We are run on principles that have lasted us for nearly 55 years but we are always looking to adapt and improve, as the world changes around us, in an ethical way.

Here’s to a positive 2021.

Jason Simmonds