Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another rest of the meet up your host Alvar Nunez here. How is everybody doing today? Well, we're gonna have with us a very special guest. His name is George Glassworth, Jr.
And he is the CEO and owner of George Cleverley, which is the bespoke London shoemaker, amazing company that has been for over a century, making the most amazing shoes for people including Jason Stahamps, Svester Stallone, David Deke, Churchill, Ralph Luregne, the list goes on. They've been working exclusively with some of the most incredible celebrities along with projects in Hollywood. I mean, the list goes on. So very excited to see what he has to say about the shoe industry and how the luxury lifestyle has been evolving over the years.
Hey, what's going on, George? How are you? Good at yourself? Very well.
It's a little wet here in London, but nothing unusual. Nothing unusual, right? I mean, but you're staying busy and still creating the magic of these shoes. So how is everything with you?
Yeah, everything actually is quite good. I mean, the good news is over the past few weeks, we've got some great news both in terms of how the pandemic is going to sort of wrap up around in London and sort of robe out of it. So that's a positive sign. So definitely a lot of people over there, spirits have been lifted, so to speak.
So it's good stuff. But tell us a little bit about your story, George, because I know George Clover Lisa has been family on for many years already, was established in what, 19 over a hundred years ago. So it's been impressive. Well, the company name goes back over 100 years.
You know, it's well documented, our close connection with Hollywood and making shoes for Humphrey Bogart and Kerry Grant and Treta Stahres. All these amazing, I guess people that I would generally say are iconic, well-addressed gems. It's transitioned a bit since. But you know, my family and I have been in business for a very long time as well.
I mean, my dad actually is approaching over 50 years in the business. And we sort of carried on in the same tradition as when the original was probably, you know, was around. Yeah, I mean, the GC shoes, I mean, there's been emblematic for quite a bit already. And I know something that you were telling me, which is the most fascinating angle of how to expand your business, which is through these collaborations with TV producers and also you're now working on some plays on Hollywood.
How incredible is that? Yeah, well, it's amazing. And I'll tell you why, because, you know, historically, I think a lot of big movies, particularly big-budget movies, you know, haven't put as much attention to detail into the small refinements. Kingsman was a great one for that, you know, which we were in collaboration with Mr.
Porter. That was probably the first costume to collection. I mean, we've always dressed a lot of Hollywood guys and saw, well, no, but I think particularly in the past five or six years, we've got a lot of big movies that come to us, such as Batman and a lot of these really great things that have asked us to make, you know, unique shoes for upcoming films. I think right now, actually, I think we've got about five or six in the works, which is quite exciting.
And they're all very big films. We've obviously got to work on very exciting projects, which is really nice. We spent a lot of time in Los Angeles for those. I mean, I got to say, it's very exciting to hear that part of the story, because when people think of, you know, shoemakers, you will think of manufacturers and everything going at a fast-paced environment and, you know, mass produced.
But in your case, it's all about the customization, the uniqueness, the experience, and really reflects on the product itself and how the people that you're doing this for give such positive feedback. So, I'm going a little bit about that. Like, how is the home experience? Well, it's interesting because the trunk show business for us has been going a very long time, you know, in 40-50 years, you know, when, you know, the original team, George Collegrion, a lot of these guys, they used to go by ship, you know, from London to New York.
I mean, and they used to be all the samples would be in actual trunks. So it's not a new thing, but just the plane has made it a lot easier to get around. We've expanded our cities. So twice a year, we do the US, we go, a team from London, flies out and does now Florida, New York, San Francisco, LA, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, and we do Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Toronto.
So we try and give the service that if a customer comes into London and they order a shoe, you know, there is a time of when they can fit that shoe. We say, look, you might not be able to get to us, but we wear a base and all those cities that we hear, they're in North America, it's going to be fairly close to where they're located and then they can kind of meet us in one of the cities that's really the easiest for them. But we also go out to Asia, we do Hong Kong, we do Singapore, Tokyo, and I quite, quite excited market. Incredible.
It's a big market. Also, I think in a lot of businesses, what people, you know, really have increased their health a lot on it, people want good customer service. Tell me a little bit about also the way that you are currently promoting your services and your product. How have you been adapting to this new wave of social media and digital presence?
Well, I mean, it's been an interesting time. I mean, we try and show a lot behind the scenes on our social media. We try and keep in front of our customer without driving them crazy because we're not, you know, based, given the company well, we're not people that send out daily emails. That's not what we do.
We find that our clients will know where we are when they want us. I mean, we do reach out to them. We do obviously send out look books and our tinnory cards and things, you know, several times a year when we're coming to a city to get customers an idea. But we use social media really because we make lots of one of products.
We like to show a document, some of the amazing shoes that our guys make. So we have a lot of interaction with clients via the social media. But for us, it's also about just keeping, you know, in contact with our clients, our own perspective clients and what have you and to sort of let people know when we're in certain cities. So that is a big thing for us.
Plus, we've been quite fortunate because unlike a lot of other businesses, obviously, there's been travel restrictions in place, but we've been still able to go to America. We were super pleased that we're able to get there because there are travel restrictions and bands and what have you placed. But because I've spent so much time in Los Angeles, you know, I'm able to go back and forth, which is quite useful in times like this, because I'm still able to give the service to be saved and not fine. You know, it really looks for.
That's incredible. No, that's great. I love the way that you're currently evolving with the business because it's not easy. It's been quite a long journey for the brand and you've taken the advantage of technology to really bring it to the masses in a still peculiar and exclusive way, which is very difficult to accomplish.
And you've done it. So congratulations on that. And I want to ask you, I want to ask you, because I'm sure in a personal level, you know, with what we've been going on, there's been a lot of adjustments, what are some of the things that you individually are doing to stay so positive and excited because you're always with us, my every time we speak, you're always so energetic and I love that. So what is your secret?
Well, I tell you this. I mean, I had a daughter 15 months ago, who's always cheering me up. Every time I see everybody around. So there's been some plus sites to these travel restrictions.
I've been able to spend so much time with my new baby girl, which is great. But I'm generally quite anyone that knows me will know I'm a very up-mo sort of upbeat person. You know, I generally always look at the positives. I don't know negative things getting my way.
You know, I'm always working on, you know, really fun, exciting projects. And I sort of surround myself. You know, all my friends are really great guys and ladies. And you know, they sort of have the same energy.
And as I say, I feel like I don't work because I love that. I generally love what I do. I love seeing my clients. I miss them.
I just love them. So, you know, and a lot of my clients, you know, my family, you know, they're my wives and my daughters. So I think when you're in a sort of a fortunate position, where you know, you can sort of love what you do. And also, you know, what we do, it's not, you know, you're not sort of out there pitching for a sound.
People make a point that say, come in to see you. They want to see you. They want to see your product. You know, it's, and when you make the best, people always say they'll come.
And there's all truth to that. Because, you know, we don't approach any film studio. We don't approach any custom. I mean, people generally find us through word of mouth through a good service through enjoyment.
So for us, you know, and I tend to sometimes drive my wife a little crazy because I'm always so happy and energetic. And she always says, you're quiet. It's like, it's like, it's not, it's not, you know, it's got to go. It's got to go.
And even if it's like raining outside, you know, I tend to always look at the positive, I was like, well, I'll stop raining. I'll start from walking out. I'll just go here and let's do this. And, you know, exploring new things.
And for me, it's just, it's, it's, it's being so nice. I've said all the time, my family, but anyone that knows me knows that I'm generally always optimistic, always positive. But I think that's my problem. I mean, it reflects, it reflects in your brand and the way that you carry the company.
So that's amazing. And everybody that, it's, you know, using your services and buying your product, they feel that energy. So that's creating a really strong synergy. Oh, thank you.
No, I generally really appreciate that. I mean, but my dad's the same too. Whenever we go anywhere and we're traveling together, it's sort of like 6 a.m. We're having coffee.
We're all excited. And, you know, the first client that sort of comes in at 9 o'clock, you can see maybe a bit quiet. And it's me and my dad. Although let's make it happen.
Let's move and shake. You know, so it's, yeah. So it's, and it's to be honest, it's not been, you know, obviously a lot of businesses have really struggled and had, you know, really tough time. And for us, we've always thought, well, let's, you know, go back to core basics.
Let's look at what we're working with. We get emailed all the time from customers, you know, or from brands that want to partner with us. And we're very cautious of who we sell to and who we collaborate with because, you know, your brand and your reputation is everything. So for us, doing the relationships with people like Mr.
Porter and Harrods, Isitan in Japan, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, you know, they're the finest retailers in the world. So we like to really work closely with them. So we're able to, you know, continually build and adapt. So for example, like Mr.
Porter, we have a new collection launching in about three or four weeks. And it's probably the most unique collection that we've done with it with the buyers there, to a great guys. It's things like grain suede, kudu, online chukka boots. So it's actually whilst we might be quite well known for our dress shoes, we sort of want to also appeal and say to customers, look, we know people are working for more, people might be slightly more casual, but you can have a lovely online loafer, you can have a lovely horse bit more.
You can have an online chukka boot in a nice sort of soft way. So we want to, and that drops in three weeks, we're very fortunate that we're, because I guess we're small, we're able to transition to the customers needs really quickly, which I think is nice. That's awesome. Now that's awesome, George.
And look, before I forget, because I always like to ask this question to anybody that is in the luxury lifestyle field, and you definitely define the luxury dress and it's all about. So what is really luxury to you? I mean, to me, it's simple. I mean, luxury has to be first and foremost, a phenomenal amount of what that is, something that's made in small batches, something that is done with a lot of heart and your heart has to be in it more than your pocket.
So that's the first thing. And second of all, you can't ever steer away from your core DNA. So if you're making a certain product with shoes or real estate, whatever, you need to stick within your DNA and have the most, probably more importantly now than ever is the customer service to give your customer the beginning, the medium and the end, the sort of whole story, and make things and stand behind your products and your work. So if you offer a service or a product, you've got to believe in it yourself, and you generally got to really get behind it.
So that for me is the fine luxury, because I think sometimes that terms thrown around a lot and people say, this is luxury, and I say, right, they made 200,000 pairs of that. That's not luxury. It's having something made that there's a story behind, and there's a family behind, and there's a craftsmanship behind it, and there's a phenomenal service that goes with that. That to me is luxury.
Thank you, George. I mean, what you've been sharing today is very inspirational, very informative as well. And if anybody's looking to reach out to you or get some amazing customized shoes, where can they find you? They can go through either our Instagram, which is at George Glenley, they can look on our website, which is www.GeorgeCledley.com, and all our details are on there.
They can also, they're interested in not ready to wear a collection, Mr. Bauta, have a very expensive selection, and they ship it in a few days all over the world. So, you know, whatever they prefer to do, as they contact us, and all our trunk show dates are on site. Amazing.
Well, George, thank you so much. I don't know if you have any other takeaways or anything that you would like to share. Remember, invest in your shoes and your bed, because if you're not in one, you're in the other. I love it.
That I know for sure that a lot of people are going to write out one down. I know I'm going to do it because it's a great concept and that's all it's true. So, thank you, George, again, for your time. It's been a pleasure having you here today.
And I look forward to seeing you in April once you've been here. I'll see you in my army. Take care, George. Take care, my friend.
And thanks again for everybody tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed it. And remember, embrace it's beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro, and I'll see you next time.