Celebrating their 75th birthday not too long ago, the Florida Group have shared their history and proud heritage, showing their clear dedication to producing high-quality ladies footwear. The story begins over 100 years ago, travelling through two world wars, a depression and the pressures of modern day manufacturing costs.

~ 1870 ~

The story of The Florida Group may have begun 75 years ago, but its heritage stretches much further back in the 1870s when its founder, Adelman Goodman, began his life in London as a refugee of Belarus.

Moving to London, Adelman had great ambitions and whilst working as a clicker he found his true passion for making shoes. It was his entrepreneurial spirit, along with two of his colleagues, that saw them establish their own shoe factory in 1910, 'Goodman, Caiden and Kissin', producing army boots during World War I. Despite potential closure threats from the government, Adelman convinced them that their work was necessary for the war effort and the factory remained open.

~ 1920s ~

Following the war, the three businessmen decided it was time to move on and go their separate ways, with them selling their business and embarking upon their own careers. Thus, Adelman opened a retail outlet called 'Goodfit Shoes' alongside his son, David. This business was located in Ealing, London, and whilst it proved successful in the four years they stayed there, Adelman knew his passions laid in the manufacturing of shoes and not the retail.

They then moved to a factory in the East End of London, on Paragon Road, Hackney in the year of 1925, founding their business A. Goodman & Co. Their success as footwear manufacturers didn't take long with them being noted as one of the most prestigious footwear brands attending the British Shoe Fair Exhibition in 1929.

They produced many shoes for Lilley and Skinner, and Thomas Lilley was even noted as having said that he would buy as many shoes as they could make because he was so impressed with the high quality of their footwear.

~ 1930s ~

In the year of 1936, the Adelman family moved to Norwich as the city became a central part of shoe manufacturing, with the world looking at this area for the production of some of the most stylish, high quality of shoes. Buying their first factory in Norwich, Adelman and his two sons, David and Lionel established the Florida Shoe Factory.

Previously owned by a German gentleman, the factory was sold as he felt he needed to return to Germany as the imminent war brewed. The factory itself had been constructed on an old World War I aircraft hanger, giving a large space for the 85 people that were employed there.

The brand continued to enjoy success during the 1930s despite the pressures of the Depression. Sadly, in 1938, Adelman died, leaving behind not only his two sons to continue his hard work, but his legacy and dedication to the production of high quality ladies shoes; qualities of which haven't been forgotten to date.

~ 1940s ~

In a bid to cut down on costs, many compromises had to be made during the war and it was during this time the The Florida Group came to share premises with WHH Clark's.

However, not long after they had settled into this new factory, it was bombed and resulted in the need for both businesses to move to Salhouse Road, something they had to convince the government was a viable option. There, both businesses worked alongside for several years during the war.

The Florida Group remained unbranded up to this point, but the year of 1946 saw them launch the Van Dal brand.

~ 1950s ~

The fifties saw Van Dal acknowledge their customers needs, who were frequently asking for shoes that were both comfortable and stylish, which resulted in Van Dal launching their own wide fitting collection.

Originally named the 'Norfolk Broads', the wider fitting shoes had to be renamed after shipping to South Africa caused the shoes to take on sleazier connotations!

Despite that minor setback, Van Dal continued to grow during the 1950s, with their wealth continuing to rise, allowing them to purchase Chittock & Sons Ltd, another Norwich factory.

It appeared that the wider fitting benefit of Van Dal shoes was an incredibly profitable part of the brand, seeing them bring in a fortune, necessitating the need to relocate to a larger factory in 1959 to the site on Dibden Road where they remain today. This cemented the relationship the Florida Group had with the Norwich shoe industry. What was originally The Eagle Shoe Works factory took two years to be completed in 1961.

~ 1960s ~

Norwich was rapidly becoming recognised as a quality ladies and children's footwear manufacturer and with their 25 different shoe factories employing 9,181 people they were producing a staggering 7 million pairs of shoes per year.

During their growth, Van Dal had acquired incredibly skilled workers, some of whom have family still working at the group. However, with continued expansion, further skilled workers were needed at their sites in Holt and Gorleston in Norfolk.

~ 1970s ~

In 1972, David sadly passed away, leaving his brother Lionel to continue their hard work. Simon Goodman, Lionel's son, who was now a Chartered Accountant, stepped in to help his father.

~ 1980s ~

Simon became chairman in 1984 when his father sadly passed away, and continues to manage and retain their family values today.

In 1983 a further £700,000 was invested in new machinery for their footwear range, allowing them to continue to expand on their ranges.

It was during this time that many started to export their manufacturing to foreign countries to save costs, but Van Dal refused to join them, sticking loyally to Norwich. They expanded their factory in Norwich, buying Edwards & Holmes factory in 1987.

~ 1990s ~

The pressures continued to mount to ship manufacturing abroad, but still Van Dal resisted, remaining proud of the their British roots. During 1990 they continued to produce 600,000 pairs of shoes and employed 300 people.

~ 2000s ~

Sadly, the pressures of moving manufacturing abroad became a reality for the Florida Group, with them moving some of their production to India in 2001 and China in 2005. However, they did, and still do, retain some of their manufacturing within the UK, believing in their 'Made in Britain' brand.

~ Present Day ~

This brings us to present day, where the statistics show just what recent pressures have done to what was once the thriving shoe manufacturing city of Norwich. In 1960 we were seeing 7 million pairs of shoes produced in 25 different factories, today just 1% of this amount of shoes are produced in the one factory that remains – The Florida Group. They continue to produce around 70,000 pairs of shoes a year with a small workforce of 80.

Their British influence and manufacturing remains defiant, however, with them having been joined by other footwear brands, Marc Footwear, Pikolions, Filippa Scott Bridal and Origa. This allows the Florida Group to produce a vast variety of footwear for all of their customers.