King's shoemaker criticizes Rishi Sunak's tourism tax as losses continue

King Charles visited the shoemaker's Northampton factory in 2019. Photo: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

The company's chief executive Britain's oldest shoemaker has blamed Rishi Sunak's controversial «tourist tax» for holding back the post-pandemic recovery after auditors warned about its future.

The auditors said there was «material uncertainty» about Tricker's «ability to continue as a going concern.» as a going concern» after the 194-year-old business posted a pre-tax loss of £311,365 for 2022, despite sales rising by £1.5 million to £6.3 million.

Tricker's is the oldest shoe manufacturer in the UK and holds a Royal Warrant to supply shoes to King Charles under his former nickname «The Prince of Wales». Earlier, the king visited the shoe factory in Northampton, where it produces shoes.

The company's managing director Martin Mason attributed last year's results to lower sales at its flagship London store due to the so-called «tourist tax».

He told The Telegraph: «One of the main areas where we have lost turnover in 2022 year and have not returned our turnover to previous levels, largely due to retail trade and the fact that in 2021 the government stopped taxation. free shopping.»

Previously, travelers could claim back VAT paid on purchases in the UK. The tax breaks encouraged tourists to shop and were particularly beneficial to luxury companies that sold high-priced goods that would incur high overall tax costs.

However, duty-free shopping was abandoned by Rishi Sunak in 2021 while he was Chancellor . Treasury.

The policy sparked a backlash from the British luxury industry, which called the change a “tourist tax.”

Chief executives of companies including Mulberry and Harrods have warned that the end of VAT-free trading means London is losing out to rival European cities such as Paris, Milan and Madrid, where duty-free trading still applies. accessible.

Mr Mason said: “I think these towns probably can't believe their luck. If duty free shopping had not been scrapped, sales levels in London would have returned to pre-pandemic [levels]. I'm convinced of that.»

Tricker's benefited from duty-free trading, with a pair of shoes costing more than £485.

It struggled to recover due to the pandemic, losing £726,764 sterling in 2021.

Mr Mason said: “2020 and 21 have been incredibly difficult. Most of our clients were closed around the world.

“Every market we sold in had different lockdown periods, so none were open. Therefore, no one bought as many pairs of shoes as before. Thus, in 2020 and 2021 we had a serious decline in turnover. We only started to see a really good recovery in 2022.”

He added: “Sales are looking pretty good in [2023]. We are 20% larger than in 2022. But actually, more importantly, since the beginning of the year, we are ahead of pre-pandemic levels. So this is a major milestone.”

The company, founded in 1829 by Joseph Tricker, is entirely handcrafted and takes an average of eight weeks to complete. In addition to the store on Jermyn Street in London, the company has stores in Tokyo and Shanghai. About 80% of the company's shoes are exported.

Mr. Mason said Tricker's had raised prices by about 10% over the past year as the cost of doing business had risen sharply.

p>He said: the cost of delivery, the cost of leather, the cost of components — all this has increased. So it's really just a reflection of the inflation that we've had to endure as a factory.»