Shoe Zone’s sales slip
Budget shoe retailer Shoe Zone reported a drop in revenues this morning after a period of shutting down its loss-making stores.
In its full-year results – covering the year to 1 October 2016 – Shoe Zone said its revenues fell 4.2 per cent to £159.8m from £166.8m the year before. Profits were relatively flat, increasing by 1.1 per cent to £10.3m.
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The company has been re-jigging its store portfolio, and aside from the store closures, 17 new stores opened and 41 were refurbished.
Shoe Zone did improve its performance online. Internet revenues increased 11 per cent, and the company improved its efficiency by moving its operations to a single online distribution centre. After the financial year ended, Shoe Zone also started trading its products with Amazon in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Nick Davis, chief executive of Shoe Zone, said: "I am pleased with the group's performance in what was a challenging retail environment.
"The group's new branding is resonating well with our customer base and we will continue to update the estate through our store rationalisation and refit programme."