Private company

Church's

Logo: http://www.kildarevillage.com/res/assets/images/brands/logo/300x200_churchs_logo.png, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

High-end English footwear manufacturer

Church & Co Limited, branded Church's, is a luxury footwear manufacturer that was founded in 1873 by Thomas Church in Northampton, England. In 1999 the company was bought by Italian luxury fashion house Prada.2 It employed 650 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1873Founded1
Church's Works in St James Northampton
Photo: Cj1340, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Church & Co Limited, branded Church's, is a luxury footwear manufacturer that was founded in 1873 by Thomas Church in Northampton, England. In 1999 the company was bought by Italian luxury fashion house Prada.2

Corporate structure

Church's is part of a group headed by Prada. 8 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Prada Milano, Italy
    • Church's Northampton
    • Miu Miu Subsidiary · Milan
    • The Original Car Shoe Subsidiary · Milan
    • Versace Subsidiary · Milano, Italy
    • CHURCH & CO LIMITED Subsidiary · Northampton, United Kingdom
    • Helmut Lang Subsidiary
    • KENON LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
    • Bar Luce (Prada) Owned · Milan, Italy
    • Fondazione Prada Owned · Milan, Italy

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Between the two world wars, Church's became actively involved in the development of the footwear industry in general. In 1919, the British Boot, Shoe and Allied Trades Research Association was created with Church's as a founder-member. As a result of this partnership, the Northampton Technical College was established in 1925. This went on to become the University of Northampton in 2005.

The family business was taken over by Prada in 1999, in a US$170 million deal,

and has since expanded its outlets overseas. In 2014 the company employed 650 people. The same year, Church's took over adjacent premises in St James Road, formerly a tram and later a bus depot, in anticipation of further expansion which was expected to create up to 140 more jobs.

Some have criticised Prada's management of Church's, citing a shift towards a fashion company moving away from traditional designs and workmanship resulting in gradual decrease of quality.

In 2016, the Company appointed a new CEO. Despite the openings of new luxury boutiques and the uplift of retail price, Church & Co reported losses and reduced the workforce in its plant in Northampton.

From Wikipedia’s article on Church's, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • shoe

Listed on Wikidata.1

Its main installations are located in the St James area of Northampton, with an estimated production capacity of 5,000 pairs per week, 70% of which are exported all over the world. Besides products sold to resellers and individual customers, the company has retail stores in Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and UK.

From Wikipedia’s article on Church's, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1873Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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