Our History

1860

Gardiner Brothers & Co (leathers) Ltd was founded as a Traditional Tannery – in Alvin Street Gloucester

1900

1960

Five successive generations continued to run the business until the 1960's when the footwear industry underwent a major upheaval. The introduction of vulcanised footwear encouraged Gardiner Bros to take a new direction and distribute slippers, plimsolls, wellington boots and casual footwear.

1973

Gardiner Bros were instrumental in the incorporation in a national consortium of five regional wholesalers, Group Five (Shoes) Ltd.  The group pioneered European importing and offered national distribution for a variety of brands such as Hunter, Pirelli and Dunlop.

 

National Whole Sale distribution began!

1974

Cotswold Shoes were born, originally as a golfing brand. Since then the Cotswold brand has taken inspiration from surrounding areas to create wellingtons, hikers and lifestyle products alike. They now feature in national retailers

1980

Due to new safety regulations coming into place, Gardiner Brothers extended their offering into Safety Booth with the introduction of FOOTSURE WESTERN LTD

2007

Partnered as UK Distributor for Skechers

2009

Gardiner Brothers & Footsure Western Ltd moved from Alvin Street to new bespoke premises in Hardwicke with 89,000 sq ft of warehousing

2015

Partnered as UK Distributor for Base London

2016

Partnered as UK Distributor for Hush Puppies

2017

Partnered as UK Sole Distributor for The Original Muck Boot Company

2019

Gained full UK exclusivity for Hush Puppies, including designing, and developing styles to sit alongside the existing global range

2019

Cotswold partnered with The National Forest to donate every time a Cotswold Shoe is purchased

2022

Acquired 2 additional Office & Warehouse Units in Stonehouse growing our Warehouse capacity to 230,000sq ft

Today

The Company has been run since the 1960's by Peter and Jolyon Gardiner. Today their son's James and Ben Gardiner work with others on the management team pushing the business forward. Now the business supplies a vast range of footwear and clothing to the retail trade. The Company distributes up to one and a half million items each year across the world. With over 150 years of knowledge and experience in wholesale distribution, the Gardiner family expertise is priceless and offers an unmatched service to the trade.

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