Elefanten, the Green Boxes, and Why We Said No
We’re starting a little series of Gormley Shoes retrospectives – looking back at some of the brands, stories and characters that have passed through 53 Main Street over the last 30+ years.
First up is a kids’ shoe brand a lot of you will remember with real fondness: Elefanten.
The world of green and grey boxes
In the early 1990s, we had Elefanten kids’ shoes in the shop – at a time when the children’s shoe market was dominated by one name: Clarks.
Clarks probably had the lion’s share, with Start‑rite (arguably a better product) in second place. Both were old English heritage brands with a reputation for quality and fit, and both mainly marketed their children’s shoes to the people who actually paid for them: the parents.
The shoes themselves were black, brown and, if we’re honest, fairly boring. The boxes were green or grey, with neat little labels for sizes and fittings. Solid, sensible, respectable – exactly what you’d expect to see stacked behind the counter in every high street shoe shop in the UK and Ireland.
Then along comes Elefanten
Elefanten was an unbelievably good kids’ shoe brand from Germany. We didn’t know it at the time – and it wasn’t a word anyone was really using – but what Elefanten did to the UK and Irish kids’ shoe market was disruptive. It didn’t just join the party; it changed the music.
Here was a brand that made unbelievably good shoes, but they were made for the children, not the parents.
- Soft leathers and proper construction.
- Bright colours and fun designs.
- Branding that actually appealed to kids.
The bright coloured boxes with a cartoon elephant became iconic. They gave away little toys, comics, balloons, even sweets with their shoes – and within a few years they’d gained a foothold in the market and were taking serious share.
Elefanten was the trailblazer. It proved kids’ shoes didn’t need to be boring – they could be fun and bright and still fit really well and be superior quality.
People of a certain age will remember Elefanten with great fondness. If you still have a pair in a box in the back of the cupboard with your child’s first teeth, please post a pic – we’d love to see it.
Do any of you remember the big red elephant that used to sit in the middle of the shop? Strange to think that the “kids” who were being fitted for those first Elefanten shoes will now be in their late 20s.
The green boxes fight back
But while Elefanten was riding high in the early 2000s, a green monster was lurking in the wings.
Clarks – the green boxes – was watching those red boxes eat into its market share year after year. Back then Clarks was a cash‑rich company, and it set about a fightback: regain its market share at home and get a foothold in the lucrative European market.
In 2001, Clarks acquired Elefanten for £23 million.
Soon after, we received notification from our suppliers about the acquisition – and that Elefanten would be withdrawn from the UK and Irish markets. Bit by bit, the manufacturing plants in Germany were closed. By 2004, Clarks threw the towel in and folded the company. Only the name survived.
That’s the cynical part: a big, cash‑rich rival buys the disruptive upstart, pulls it out of key markets, winds down the factories, and what’s left is just a logo on a balance sheet.
What came after Elefanten?
We did what independents always do – we adapted.
We took in other European brands like Richter and Ricosta that were similar to Elefanten. We had Studio Bimbi, almost a precursor to Lelli Kelly, making beautiful girls’ shoes and boots in black patent crocs and rich reds and greens with gold embellishments. We brought in premier Spanish kids’ brands, and then kids’ shoes from the big US super brands like Converse, Skechers and Vans. (After Covid we seen a shift in the overall kids market and stopped doing them altogether in 2023.)
But nothing touched Elefanten in terms of the impact it made with us and our customers. For a while, it was the top dog. The Wunderkind that could do no wrong. And it didn’t do anything wrong – other than try to be successful at what it did – only to be taken out by a big‑pocketed rival.
The phone call
And here’s the kicker.
About ten years ago, I got a phone call out of the blue from Clarks asking if we’d be interested in taking in Clarks kids’ shoes.
I politely declined.
If you remember Elefanten – the red boxes, the toys, the big red elephant in the shop – or if you’ve still got a pair tucked away somewhere, we’d love to see your photos and hear your memories.
Gormley Shoes, 53 Main Street, Strabane – since 1994.
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