NOVEMBER 1 2008
AMERICANWAY 35
B U S I N E S S
to finish? Approximately sixmonths. Sure,
it’s significant, but not when you consider
how long the shoes will last. Though Lobb
makesnoguaranteesondurability, custom-
ershavebeenknown to sport their custom-
madekicks fordecades.
“We have shoes and boots that we’ve
made for
[
PrincePhilip
]
thathe’s stillwear-
ingafter 50 years,”Lobb says.
ChANgE Is ClEARlY
something that
doesn’t come easily to the family-owned
firm,whosebespokecustomshaveremained
intact through the generations. But Lobb
has updated a few of the company’s busi-
ness practices in order to better serve their
modern customers, many of whom live in
theUnitedStates.Representatives from the
store now travel the world to fit customers
and take orders, making two visits yearly
to the States and frequently sojourning to
othercountriesaswell.Customerswhostop
in the London store can also have their or-
der shipped to themwhen it’s complete. In
every case, JohnLobb stands by its quality
andwillmakeanynecessaryadjustments to
thefit.
But there is one business tactic the com-
pany refuses to pursue: advertising. Lobb
says the firm has never done so and has
no plans to any time soon. And though he
won’t disclose sales figures, the firm seems
tobedoing justfine.The store isable to rely
solely onword of mouth and the favorable
publicity generated by its royal warrants to
attract its clients. Besides, Lobbadmits, be-
cause of the time it takes to teach the craft
to newworkers, the store couldn’t accom-
modatea rapid influxof new customers.
“We’renot abigfirm, really, andwedon’t
have a budget for advertising,” he says. “We
can’t just increaseour output. It takes years
to train any one person, so for the last 20,
30 years, we’ve concentratedon that.We’ve
devoted a great deal of expense and effort
into training young people. If we hadn’t
done that,wewouldn’t beherenow.”
Lobb realizes that their predictability is
part of their charm. Indeed, there is some-
thing stubborn and impressive about the
company’s resistance to change. They don’t
advertise.Theydon’tmodernize.Theydon’t
bend to trends. And evidently, they don’t
need to.
gREgkAtz
is a contributing editor to
AmericanWay.
Hiswork
has also appeared in
Esquire
and
GQ
.
The last of the
great independents.
The owner/operators
who give not only fine
beef but their hearts
aswell.
The Independent Retail
Cattleman’s Association
557Mt. Pleasant Road
Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Visit:
Rainwater’s onKettner
SANDIEGO, CA ......................619.233.5757
Proprietors:
Laurel &PaddyRainwater
St. ElmoSteakHouse
INDIANAPOLIS, IN ..................317.635.0636
Proprietors:
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III Forks
DALLAS, TX .............................972.267.1776
Proprietor:
Chris Vogeli
PALMBEACHGARDENS, FL... 561-630-3660
Proprietor:
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Manny’s
MINNEAPOLIS,MN...................612.339.9900
MIAMI, FL..................................305.938.9000
Proprietors:
Phil Roberts, PeterMihajlov
&KevinKuester
Grill 225
CHARLESTON, SC ..................843.266.4222
Proprietor:
NickPalassis
ExecutiveChef:
DemetreCastanas
McKendrick’s SteakHouse
ATLANTA, GA .........................770.512.8888
Proprietors:
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RickCrowe
Malone’s
LEXINGTON, KY......................859.335.6500
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MetropolitanGrill
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Proprietor:
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Gene&Georgetti
CHICAGO, IL ...........................312.527.3718
Proprietors:
Tony &MarionDurpetti
