INDEX / DIRECTORY / CLARKS

Clarks

Fashion & Apparel 96 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-08-12
BDS-1000 Score 79 /1000 E Tier E - Limited

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Clarks - BDS-1000 Dossier

Key Findings

  • Digital: Clarks consolidated its enterprise cybersecurity estate onto Check Point Software Technologies’ Infinity architecture in September 2022 - a vendor founded by former Israeli military (Unit 8200-linked) personnel - though the relationship is a standard commercial cybersecurity contract with no surveillance, biometric, or defence-sector function.12
  • Economic/Political: Clarks entered the Israeli consumer retail market for the first time with a Tel Aviv pop-up launch (13–16 November 2024) and now sells through the importer Original’s and Next Israel, with two standalone stores confirmed only inside Israel’s internationally recognized 1967 boundaries.345
  • Political: The November 2024 market-entry date falls after the ICJ’s July 2024 advisory opinion and the ICC’s November 2024 arrest warrants, placing the launch within a window the audit treats as constructive notice, though no Clarks statement on Israel/Palestine was located in either direction.36
  • Not found: No military-sector nexus of any kind (Military = 0.00), no settlement-located stores, no OHCHR/Who Profits/UN Special Rapporteur listing, and no confirmed BlackRock shareholding - a widely repeated boycott-list claim traced instead to Marks & Spencer, an unrelated company.789

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NameClarks (C. & J. Clark International Limited)
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom - registered as C. & J. Clark International Limited, Companies House no. 0014101510
HeadquartersStreet, Somerset, England10
SectorFootwear manufacturing and retail
OwnershipPrivately held: 51% Viva Goods Company Limited (formerly Viva China Holdings, associated with Li Ning), 49% Clark family, following Viva China’s February 2023 buyout of LionRock Capital’s prior majority stake (held March 2021–February 2023)111213
Key Executives / GovernanceVictor Herrero, Acting CEO of Clarks / Co-CEO of Viva Goods (former Guess Inc. CEO and Inditex/Zara executive); Daniel Kar Keung Tseung, founder of former majority owner LionRock Capital141516
Israeli-Nexus SummaryNo defence, surveillance, or occupied-territory operational nexus identified; documented ties are limited to a commercial cybersecurity vendor relationship (Check Point) and a first-time 2024 consumer retail market entry inside Israel’s 1967 boundaries

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Clarks is a privately held, UK-headquartered footwear manufacturer and retailer with no defence-sector business and no history of operating within Israel prior to 2024. The four domain audits underlying this dossier find no evidence of any contract, tender, or supply relationship between Clarks and Israel’s Ministry of Defence, the IDF, or any Israeli defence prime; no evidence of dual-use or tactical product lines; and no evidence of Clarks appearing in the authoritative UN/NGO tracking instruments - the OHCHR Database of Business Enterprises, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s July 2025 “economy of genocide” report, PAX’s “Companies Arming Israel” report, or the Who Profits database - that catalogue corporate involvement in the occupation.7202122

The strongest documented vector is digital: Clarks consolidated its enterprise cybersecurity infrastructure onto Check Point Software Technologies’ Infinity platform (Harmony, Quantum, CloudGuard) in September 2022, a vendor founded by former Israeli military (Unit 8200-linked) personnel.12 This is a standard commercial security-vendor relationship covering endpoint, network, and cloud protection for Clarks’ EMEA operations - not a surveillance, biometric, or defence-technology engagement - and it is scored accordingly at low magnitude and proximity.

The second documented vector is economic and political: Clarks’ first-ever Israeli market activation was a four-day consumer pop-up at Teder in Tel Aviv (13–16 November 2024), marketed as a heritage brand launch, followed by ongoing sales through the Israeli importer Original’s (roughly 32 branches, none identified in West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights settlements) and through Next Israel’s e-commerce listing.34523 The launch date falls after both the ICJ’s July 2024 advisory opinion on the illegality of the occupation and the November 2024 ICC arrest warrants, which the audit treats as a constructive-notice window for the entry decision, though this observation carries no evidence of intent and no Clarks statement addressing Israel/Palestine was located in company communications.6

Several claims circulating in secondary boycott-tracking sources did not withstand verification and are excluded or flagged rather than carried forward: a claimed BlackRock shareholding in Clarks could not be corroborated against any SEC, Companies House, or corporate disclosure, and instead traces to BlackRock’s disclosed stake in Marks & Spencer - an unrelated company frequently conflated with Clarks in crowd-sourced boycott lists.8924 A separate claim of an indirect BlackRock stake “via HPS” likewise could not be corroborated against Clarks’ documented ownership chain.2526 No tenancy, franchise, or reseller record was found placing any Clarks-branded or Original’s-branded storefront inside a West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights settlement.427

On this evidentiary record, Clarks scores V_MAX = 1.10 (Economic) with a Sum_OTHERS of 0.83, yielding a BRS of 79 and Tier E (Minimal). The military domain scores zero across all three sub-metrics; the digital domain scores near-zero (0.03) reflecting a real but low-magnitude, low-proximity commercial vendor relationship; the economic and political domains carry moderate impact/magnitude/proximity scores reflecting a documented, timed, first-time market entry into Israel proper, without settlement operations or defence linkage.

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
1825Clarks founded in Street, Somerset, England, by Cyrus and James Clark.10
March 2021LionRock Capital (Hong Kong) acquires majority stake in Clarks; Victor Herrero named CEO/Executive Chairman.1114
~Late 2021Victor Herrero steps down as CEO after approximately nine months, moving to a broader LionRock Capital group role.1216
September 2022Clarks consolidates its EMEA cybersecurity estate onto Check Point Software Technologies’ Infinity architecture (Harmony, Quantum, CloudGuard).12
February 2023LionRock Capital’s stake sold to Viva China Holdings (Li Ning); Clarks becomes 51% Viva Goods / 49% Clark family.1328
19 July 2024ICJ issues advisory opinion on the illegality of the Israeli occupation (cited by the audit as a constructive-notice reference point, not a Clarks-specific event).
13–16 November 2024Clarks Originals holds its first-ever Israel retail activation - a pop-up launch event at Teder, Tel Aviv.329
November 2024ICC issues arrest warrants (cited by the audit as a constructive-notice reference point, not a Clarks-specific event).
2025Clarks reports group return to profitability (£31.3–35.9m, sources vary) after two loss-making years; no Israel-specific revenue disclosed.181930
April 2026Clarks launches a curated online marketplace powered by Marketplacer technology (no Israeli-origin vendor identified in this engagement).31

Corporate Overview

Clarks operates as C. & J. Clark International Limited, registered in the United Kingdom (Companies House no. 00141015), headquartered in Street, Somerset.10 The company is majority-owned (51%) by Viva Goods Company Limited, a vehicle controlled by Li Ning, majority shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Viva China Holdings; the Clark family holds the remaining 49%.1113 This followed a February 2023 transaction in which Viva China bought out LionRock Capital, the Hong Kong private-equity firm (founded by Daniel Kar Keung Tseung) that had held the majority stake since March 2021.121516 No public evidence identified of any Israeli state ownership stake, board appointee, government contract, or critical-infrastructure designation attaching to Clarks, and no golden-share or charter provision tying its governance to any state’s policy objectives.32

Clarks has no wholly-owned subsidiary, office, or manufacturing footprint in Israel. Its products reach the Israeli market exclusively through independent third parties: Original’s, an Israeli multi-brand footwear retailer that markets itself as Clarks’ “official importer” in Israel (and holds equivalent status for Birkenstock, Asics, UGG, Rockport, Reef, and Dr Martens) operating roughly 32 branches, all located within pre-1967 Israel or West Jerusalem; and Next Israel, a third-party e-commerce storefront.452327 Two standalone Clarks-branded storefronts were separately identified - at Florentin Mall, Tel Aviv, and BIG Fashion, Rishon LeZion - both within Israel’s internationally recognized 1967 boundaries.27 No Clarks or Original’s storefront was found in any West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights settlement location checked, including a spot-check of the Ariel settlement mall tenant list.27 Clarks’ confirmed Middle East regional franchise partner is the Dubai-based Apparel Group, with an announced Saudi Arabia expansion; no evidence was found of Apparel Group’s involvement in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories specifically.3334

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of any contract, tender, or cooperation agreement between Clarks and Israel’s Ministry of Defence, the IDF, the Israel Prison Service, or any other Israeli state security body; Clarks does not appear in SIBAT listings or defence-exhibition catalogues.35 Clarks manufactures civilian lifestyle and comfort footwear (Wallabees, Originals lines) with no ruggedised, tactical, or mil-spec variants identified.35 No public evidence identified of Clarks in any defence-prime supply chain (Elbit Systems, IAI, Rafael, IMI Systems/Elbit Land), corroborated by a full-text check of PAX’s June 2024 “Companies Arming Israel” report, which does not mention Clarks despite extensive coverage of these primes’ supply chains.21 No public evidence identified of Clarks logistics, base-service, or sustainment contracts for Israeli military installations, or of any role in munitions, weapons platforms, or strategic systems - a domain fundamentally outside Clarks’ commercial category. UK Ministry of Defence combat-footwear procurement runs through Leidos Supply Ltd, with no link to Clarks.36

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Clarks is not named among the 158 entities in the OHCHR settlement-business database, nor among the 48 corporations in UN Special Rapporteur Albanese’s July 2025 report, nor in PAX’s report, nor on Ethical Consumer’s Palestine boycott list.7202122 Clarks does appear on two lower-tier, crowd-sourced boycott sites: Brands2Boycott lists it solely on the basis of an unverified “association with Marks & Spencer” - the two are separate, unrelated companies with no ownership link identified - and Cobbled Goods’ billionaire-boycott page reportedly cites an unverified BlackRock shareholding claim that could not be corroborated against any SEC filing or corporate disclosure, and which more plausibly traces to BlackRock’s confirmed stake in Marks & Spencer, not Clarks.8924 Clarks’ documented ownership is instead LionRock Capital/Viva Goods (Li Ning), with no BlackRock link identified.1113

Named Entities and Evidence Map

No named individuals, subsidiaries, or transactions were identified linking Clarks to Israeli military procurement, defence primes, or security-force logistics. Clarks’ one consumer-facing “military discount” programme is a retail discount scheme for UK/US armed-forces personnel, unrelated to Israel and not a procurement relationship.

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Clarks consolidated its end-to-end EMEA cybersecurity estate onto Check Point Software Technologies’ Infinity architecture in September 2022 - Harmony (endpoint/remote access), Quantum (network gateways), and CloudGuard (cloud security) - replacing multiple prior point-solution vendors and reducing security policy/rule count by over 50%.12 Check Point’s customer-story page names deployed products (Security Gateways, Endpoint Security, Cloud Firewall, Security Management R81, SmartEvent, Compliance) and quotes Clarks Network Service Manager Dan Fletcher; the page remained live as of the most recent indexing available, though no independent 2023–2026 source confirms renewal or termination.2 Check Point was founded by former Israeli military (Unit 8200-linked) personnel, per general background reporting on the company rather than reporting specific to the Clarks relationship.37 Clarks’ other core enterprise technology - SAP S/4HANA and SAP HCM, Microsoft Power BI, SAP HANA hosted via IBM Gold Partner Elyzium, and a 2022 composable-commerce/e-commerce transformation - shows no Israeli-origin vendor.38394041

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The Check Point relationship is a standard commercial cybersecurity engagement (network, endpoint, cloud protection) with no surveillance, biometric, or offensive-cyber function. No public evidence identified of Clarks using facial recognition, biometric, gait-analysis, or predictive-policing technology from any Israeli vendor (Trigo, BriefCam, AnyVision/Oosto, Trax). No public evidence identified that Clarks operates data-centre infrastructure in Israel, participates in Project Nimbus, or provides technology to Israeli state or defence bodies - Clarks is solely a consumer, not a provider, of commercial technology. No public evidence identified of Clarks R&D presence, investment, or IP relationship with any Israeli institution. A search-engine snippet listing Clarks among Palo Alto Networks customers could not be corroborated by any primary source and is treated as unverified.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Check Point Software Technologies (vendor, cybersecurity infrastructure, since September 2022).12 Dan Fletcher, Clarks Network Service Manager, quoted in Check Point’s customer materials.2 No Israeli entity was identified elsewhere in Clarks’ documented vendor stack (SAP, IBM/Elyzium, Microsoft, Marketplacer, NewStore).3839404131

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

Clarks entered the Israeli consumer market for the first time via a pop-up launch event at Teder, Tel Aviv (13–16 November 2024), and now sells through Original’s (official importer, ~32 branches) and Next Israel (e-commerce storefront), plus two standalone Clarks-branded stores at Florentin Mall (Tel Aviv) and BIG Fashion (Rishon LeZion), both within pre-1967 boundaries.3452327 Clarks’ disclosed global manufacturing footprint (China, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Albania, Portugal, Romania) does not include Israel.17 No public evidence identified of Clarks capital investment, R&D facility, or wholly-owned entity inside Israel or the occupied territories; market presence runs entirely through arm’s-length third-party retailers, meaning profit generated in Israel would primarily accrue to those independent Israeli businesses rather than to Clarks directly.42

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Clarks does not appear in the Wikipedia-maintained list of companies operating in West Bank settlements, the list of companies involved in the Gaza war, or the Who Profits database - despite Who Profits actively profiling comparator footwear retailers (Aldo, Teva Naot), confirming the sector is indexed and the absence is not a coverage artifact.434445 A cross-check of Original’s full 32-branch store list, and a spot-check of the Ariel settlement mall tenant list, found no branch inside any West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights settlement.27 The Don’t Buy into Occupation 2024/2025 report landing pages contained no mention of Clarks, Viva China, Li Ning, or LionRock Capital in retrievable content, though the full annexed company-list PDF could not be independently opened, and this limitation is carried forward rather than treated as confirmation.4647 The circulating claim of a BlackRock equity stake in Clarks (direct, or indirect “via HPS”) is unverified and likely erroneous, tracing instead to BlackRock’s confirmed, unrelated stake in Marks & Spencer.89242526

#derivable

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Original’s (Israeli official importer/retailer, ~32 branches).427 Next Israel (e-commerce storefront).23 Viva Goods Company Limited / Li Ning (51% owner); Clark family (49% owner); LionRock Capital (prior majority owner, 2021–2023).1113 No Israeli capital participant, lender, or joint-venture partner was identified in Clarks’ ownership or financing structure.

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Clarks publicly framed its November 2024 Israel retail entry as a celebratory brand-heritage launch - the “iconic English shoe brand” arriving in Israel, staged as a four-day consumer pop-up with performances and receptions - rather than a neutral administrative announcement.32948 This launch fell after both the ICJ’s 19 July 2024 advisory opinion on the illegality of the occupation and the November 2024 ICC arrest warrants, which the audit treats as a constructive-notice window relevant to the timing of market entry.6 No public evidence identified of any Clarks corporate statement - general or Israel/Gaza-specific - on the conflict, nor on Ukraine or Black Lives Matter, meaning the record shows uniform silence across reference issues rather than a confirmed differential pattern.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Clarks does not appear in the OHCHR Database of Business Enterprises (June 2023 or September 2025 updates) or in Al-Haq’s Business and Human Rights advocacy materials, which instead name Airbnb and Booking.com as recurring targets.74950 No public evidence identified of Clarks lobbying, PAC activity, or leadership role in any geopolitical advocacy organization; no financial contributions to the IDF, Friends of the IDF, the Jewish National Fund, or settlement organizations were identified at corporate or named-executive level. No public evidence identified of personal statements, donations, or board affiliations relating to Israel-Palestine by Victor Herrero, Daniel Kar Keung Tseung, Li Ning, or the Clark family. A recurring public confusion was identified between “Clarks” and the unrelated corporation “Kimberly-Clark” in boycott-tracking discussions, a source-conflation risk distinct from evidence against Clarks itself. No primary-source NGO investigation (Who Profits, AFSC, Al-Haq) names Clarks as a boycott target.515245

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Teder (private Tel Aviv cultural venue, event partner for the November 2024 launch; not identified as a government-sponsored initiative).329 Original’s and Next Israel (retail channels).423 Apparel Group (Middle East franchise partner, Saudi Arabia expansion; no Israel nexus identified).3334 No Clarks or Viva Goods executive was identified holding a role in a pro-Israel/anti-BDS lobbying body or state-aligned institution.

BDS-1000 Score (V4)

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military0.000.000.000.00
Digital1.501.001.000.03
Economic4.003.004.501.10
Political3.502.504.500.80

The score is driven almost entirely by Economic, reflecting a documented, timed, first-time consumer market entry into Israel proper via third-party retail - the only domain with above-moderate magnitude and proximity. Political contributes a secondary weight from the same event’s political-timing context. Military registers zero across all sub-metrics, and Digital registers near-zero, reflecting a real but low-magnitude commercial vendor relationship rather than a defence or surveillance nexus. The resulting BRS of 79 places Clarks in Tier E (Minimal) - the lowest documented-involvement tier in this scoring framework. Scores follow the BDS-1000 method: scale-free Impact × Magnitude × Proximity per domain, evidence-only, human-vetted.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/09/07/2511194/0/en/Clarks-Consolidates-End-to-End-Cybersecurity-Estate-with-Check-Point-Software-Technologies.html 2 3 4 5

  2. https://www.checkpoint.com/customer-stories/clarks/ 2 3 4 5 6 7

  3. https://www.secrettelaviv.com/tickets/clarks-originals-teder 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

  4. https://originals.co.il/pages/clarks 2 3 4 5 6 7

  5. https://www.next.co.il/en/brands/clarks 2 3 4 5

  6. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5923-economy-occupation-economy-genocide-report-special-rapporteur 2 3

  7. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/un-human-rights-office-updates-database-businesses-involved-israeli 2 3 4

  8. https://cobbledgoods.com/billionaire-boycott-list-for-footwear/ 2 3 4

  9. https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/newsroom/press-releases/holding-company-blackrock 2 3 4

  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarks_(shoe_retailer) 2 3 4 5

  11. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/li-nings-unit-viva-china-to-acquire-majority-stake-at-clarks-/6106.html 2 3 4 5

  12. https://www.thembsgroup.co.uk/external/victor-herrero-steps-down-as-ceo-of-clarks/ 2 3

  13. https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/news-and-events/news/2023/02/02_02-lionrock-capital-closes-sale-of-clarks-investment-to-viva-china 2 3 4 5

  14. https://wwd.com/footwear-news/shoe-industry-news/lionrock-capital-majority-stake-clarks-1234651987/ 2

  15. https://www.lionrockcapitalhk.com/team/daniel-kar-keung-tseung/ 2

  16. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/clarks-ceo-leaves-after-less-than-a-year-in-the-role-/7167.html 2 3

  17. https://corporate.clarks.com/made-to-last/where-we-make-our-shoes.html 2

  18. https://wwd.com/footwear-news/shoe-industry-news/clarks-shoe-company-profitability-2025-financial-1238924252/ 2

  19. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/clarks-returns-to-profit-after-a-two-year-downturn/11429.html 2

  20. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/forever-occupation-genocide-and-profit-special-rapporteurs-report-exposes 2

  21. https://paxforpeace.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/The-Companies-Arming-Israel-and-Their-Financiers-June-2024.pdf 2 3

  22. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethical-campaigns-boycotts/palestine-boycott-list 2

  23. https://www.next.co.il/en/shop/brand-clarks-0 2 3 4 5

  24. http://brands2boycott.org/boycottlist/fashion/ 2 3

  25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPS_Investment_Partners 2

  26. https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/newsroom/press-releases/article/corporate-one/press-releases/blackrock-acquires-hps-investment-partners 2

  27. https://www.kenyonim.com/storeresults.asp?cboNet=3244 2 3 4 5 6 7

  28. https://legalclarity.org/who-owns-clarks-shoes-viva-goods-and-the-clark-family/

  29. https://www.instagram.com/p/DB05FknNjil/?hl=en 2 3

  30. https://www.modaes.com/global/companies/clarks-returns-to-black-after-two-years-in-losses-and-earns-359-million

  31. https://retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2026/4/21/footwear-retailer-clarks-launches-curated-online-marketplace-powered-by-marketplacer-tech 2

  32. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00141015

  33. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/clarks-partners-up-with-apparel-group/8971.html 2

  34. https://www.apparelgroup.com/en/news/apparel-group-and-clarks-join-forces-to-expand-retail-reach-in-ksa/ 2

  35. https://www.satra.com/bulletin/article.php?id=938

  36. https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/171dceb7-2d87-4d0b-9096-aad4921b6dd3

  37. https://corporatewatch.org/check-point-software-ex-israeli-military-spooks-profiting-from-the-cyber-security-industry/

  38. https://www.appsruntheworld.com/customers-database/customers/view/c-j-clark-international-ltd-united-kingdom 2

  39. https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/clarks-systems-hardware-sap-hana 2

  40. https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/clarks-tracks-a-successful-transition-to-a-modern-composable-tech-stack/ 2

  41. https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/topics/omnichannel-alignment/how-clarks-transformed-into-an-omnichannel-powerhouse-without-missing-a-step 2

  42. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/companies/clarks/

  43. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_operating_in_West_Bank_settlements

  44. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_involved_in_the_Gaza_war

  45. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/7349 2

  46. https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/reports/dont-buy-into-occupation-report-2024/

  47. https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/reports/dont-buy-into-occupation-report-2025/

  48. https://www.facebook.com/events/derech-jaffa-9-65842-tel-aviv-israel/clarks-originals-x-teder-13-1611/578937067847373/

  49. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2023/06/update-database-business-enterprises-relation-occupied-palestinian

  50. https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/business-human-rights

  51. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/4028

  52. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/rami-levi-chain-stores