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In 1910, Schoenfabriek van Bommel applied to the municipality to obtain a telephone connection. At that time, Moergestel was not yet connected to the national telephone network. Connecting a village and installing cables and masts was a major operation.
Soon after the occupation in May 1940, shoes in the Netherlands could only be purchased via “ration coupons”. With this strict form of regulation, shoes remained available and affordable for most people. One year after the occupation, in May 1941, Van Bommel's shoe production was cut in half.
The 20th century
The rise of the steam engine marked the industrial revolution in England around 1750. The Netherlands followed 100 years later. Shoe factory Van Bommel presented itself as a ‘steam shoe factory’ at the end of the 19th century. In reality, Van Bommel was still a crafts company. However, adding the word ‘steam’ to the company name gave it a more modern and distinguished image among customers. The risk of being caught doing this kind of embellishment was minimal. Given that there was no internet, only scarce photography and media, and limited means of travel meant that customers would not easily discover the truth. Van Bommel brought up the rear in the Dutch industrialisation, mechanising with a suction gas engine in 1911.
On the night of Easter Monday 1951, lightning struck the Van Bommel shoe factory. The building which served as a shoemaker's workshop from 1835 and was converted into a shoe factory in 1911 burned to the ground. The life's work of the Van Bommel family was destroyed. After several days of mourning, about a week after the fire, preparations for the construction of a new factory began.
In the 1930s, the Netherlands could not escape the global economic crisis either. The government introduced various measures to support and promote Dutch businesses. One such initiative was 'De Oranje Trein' (The Orange Train).
The Goodyear making method is one of the most beautiful and authentic ways to make a dress shoe. Van Bommel has been producing Goodyear-made shoes at its factory in Moergestel for over a century. How this method of making got its name is an interesting bit of history.
The Netherlands was one of 11 neutral countries during the First World War. Nonetheless, the Dutch army was in a state of high alert during the war. To station the army as close as possible to the front line, soldiers were ‘billeted’. This meant that civilians had to accommodate soldiers in private homes and buildings along the Dutch border. Then-director Janus van Bommel was assigned two soldiers in his private home, for whom he had to provide board and lodging.
Due to the aftermath of the First World War, the Dutch economy was struggling in the 1920s. The Brabant shoe industry also faced some difficult years. The German shoe industry had accelerated mechanisation during and after the war years. Cheap imports flooded the Dutch market.
In the 18th century, the concept of brand names barely existed. Every town had its own local shoemaker. They did not need a brand name. Having a good reputation within their own trading area was enough. In the 19th century though, small shoemakers developed into larger workshops and later into factories. This upscaling increased the need to establish a brand name to spread the word of their products far beyond their trading area.
The 1950s and 1960s were marked by stiff competition between shoe manufacturers. As a result, shoe retailers gained more influence and power. One of the ways this was palpable was the rise of private labels. Shoe retailers demanded that their own name or house brand be stamped into the shoes. Schoenfabriek van Bommel had no choice but to meet these demands and thus produced dozens of private labels in those years. Sometimes, you could still see a small name indicating that it was made by Van Bommel, but oftentimes you could not.
Frans van Bommel is the father of the current management and represents the eighth generation within the family business. During Frans's career, the entire Dutch shoe industry disappeared. Out of the 227 shoe factories that existed at the start of his career, only one remained when he retired. With his commercial instinct and keen sense of marketing, Frans led the family business through this massive decline. Having shown so much energy and personal commitment, he transformed the shoe factory from a product-oriented business into a marketing-oriented company. In 2002, he passed on a completely healthy family business and a rock-solid brand to the next generation.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the world was in severe economic crisis. Things were not going well for Van Bommel either. From a financial point of view, the factory was forced to produce at full capacity anyway. Producing less but still paying employees in full was simply too expensive. However, sales were not picking up. Stocks were so high that the company's financing was under pressure. In early 1981, the management was forced to apply to the Dutch Federation of Shoe Manufacturers for a reduction in working hours. The factory was completely idle while the office worked on a restart. During this time, the shoe factory was on the brink of collapse.
End of the 20th century
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