Shoe firm Tricker's opens Tokyo store

Tricker's managing director Martin Mason said there were queues outside the Tokyo store ahead of its opening

A shoe manufacturer that supplies footwear to Prince Charles has opened a store in Tokyo.

Northampton-based Tricker's has shops in the town and in London, but the Japanese store is its first outside the UK.

The company was founded by Joseph Tricker in 1829 and has had its Royal Warrant since 1989.

Martin Mason, managing director, said: "If you head into Tokyo, Northampton footwear has a really important place".

In 2015, Northamptonshire shoemakers were said to be exporting £20m-worth of shoes to Japan each year, an increase of 45% in the five years since 2010.

Earlier this year, Tricker's marked its 190th anniversary with a visit from Prince Charles.

Mr Mason said that footwear made in the county was "revered" in Japan and seen as a "luxury brand".

He said that 80% of the firm's sales were overseas, and that it could open other stores in countries such as South Korea and the United States.

The British Footwear Association, based in Northamptonshire, said the county remained the "shoemaking capital of the world".