The sale of Russell & Bromley is a symbol of the challenges facing independent heritage brands

By Naomi Braithwaite, Associate Professor in Fashion and Material Culture, Nottingham Trent University

The UK heritage shoemaker Russell & Bromley has been bought by high-street clothing giant Next. Despite the brand’s rescue from administration, dozens of jobs will be lost in initial redundancies, and there are rumours that more than 30 shops could close. As one of the few independently owned footwear brands left in the UK, the sale spells another loss to the industrial heritage of the British footwear industry.

The closure of fashion stores is nothing new, and the gradual demise of the

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