The Esco Group has its roots in Manchester, England in 1917 where it started out as a cotton trader and exporter. In 1938 the business diversified into the importation of textile piece goods from the Far East. Thereafter a number of textile agencies were started.

Over the years as a result of the expansion of our supplier, product and customer base and through the drive, determination and skills of our employees, the organization has evolved into a dynamic and successful Group of companies. 85 years after its foundation, the Esco Group is today engaged in a wide range of business activities ranging from global textile agents to the sourcing, supply and trading of textile goods, garments, home furnishings and shoes from a network of leading manufacturers and factories throughout the Far East, including China, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.

Our Footwear business is involved internationally in the sourcing and supply of shoes.

The business provides a number of supply chain services to its Customers including product design & development, raw material sourcing, production planning & control, quality assurance, shipping, export documentation, customs clearance, warehousing and delivery.

Through our operating companies, we supply private label footwear to well-known national, European and multi-national importers and retailers.

Our strengths stems from our long history in the global textile industry and our track record in logistics and successfully sourcing footwear for our Customers out of the Far East, and out of China in particular.

Above all, we excel at reducing complexity and costs in the supply chain.

The footwear product offering has evolved to incorporate a diverse range of men's, ladies and children's shoes and is highly responsive to style and design trends in the local marketplaces into which we supply.

Our most important attribute in shoes lies in our sourcing and supply capabilities for footwear out of China. Due to our strong foothold in China, our extensive factory network and with our personnel on the ground throughout China, we can offer unrivalled factory selection and an excellent product range for our Customers.

We have entered into a number of exclusive joint ventures and partnership agreements with major footwear manufacturing groups in China.

Our source factories are located in a number of leading manufacturing centres; this ensures that we have the flexibility to satisfy our Customers' requirements by being able to deliver the right product at the right quality at the right price - the lowest price.

Our knowledge of Chinese production, regional areas, export trade logistics, EU quotas, etc. is professional, in-house and up to date.

We will shortly be formally announcing the opening of our office in China in the heartland of the footwear production region. This strategic investment will give us a solid platform from which we will offer a top notch service to our Customers and will catapult us forward towards achieving our aspirations as a leading supplier of Chinese footwear.

The office will perform and co-ordinate the following key functions :-

• Factory evaluation
  
• Factory management liaison
  
• Product development
  
• Sampling & costings
  
• Production planning
  
• Quality Control
  
• Logistics & shipping

All our products are linked by one attribute - consistent high quality.

With regards to materials, durability and fit, we apply the strictest criteria. We focus not only on the finished product but also on the quality control procedures throughout the entire manufacturing process. Working in close conjunction with factory management, we ensure that Q.C. is the number one criteria that has to be met.

Additionally, to ensure that our Customers' requirements are continuously being met, we work with a number of accredited external quality control partners like SGS, ITS & Sartra.

• Experts in our field
• Through understanding of international trade & supply chain management leading to a simplification of the supply chain and a quantifiable reduction in costs for our Customers
• Logistics, importation & warehousing facilities
• Solid I.T. platform, including digital resources
• Many years of experience in dealing with global production centres
• Long-term working relationships in close cooperation with a select number of factories worldwide
• An unrivalled presence in China
• In-house & in-depth product knowledge & technical resources
• Excellent product development & design skills
• 'Fast track' sampling process
• The ability to consistently deliver high quality and very competitively priced footwear
• A clear understanding of our Customers' needs and their market requirements
• Our partnership philosophy with our customers
• Our track-record of supplying 'own label' footwear
• Reliability
• A responsive and focused Management team
• ESCO - A rock solid name & reputation