Shoe Zone swings to profit
Shoe Zone has swung to a pre-tax profit in the year to 2 October as it continued to close non-profit making locations.
While revenue dropped to £119.1 million from £122.6 million a year earlier, the retailer made a pre-tax profit of £9.5 million compared to a loss of £14.6 million in the prior year.
Trading for just 36 weeks of the year due to Covid-19 lockdowns, stores recorded revenue of £88.6 million which was down from a previous £103 million. In contrast, online sales climbed by 58% to £30.5 million following an investment in digital infrastructure and operations. The retailer said part of the success of its digital operation could be attributed to a very efficient returns process.
Shoe Zone ended the period with 410 stores trading after a net 50 unprofitable locations were closed.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Shoe Zone, said: “Shoe Zone had a very successful year due to the incredible hard work of our teams, by reducing costs, reducing non-essential capital expenditure, continuing to accelerate investment in our digital business alongside improving and streamlining operations.”
Giving an update on strategy, Shoe Zone said it is continuing to roll out its successful ‘Big Box’ and ‘hybrid’ formats by targeting key towns for conversion or relocation. The retailer is currently aiming to double the Big Box locations to approximately 100 and increase the number of hybrid stores from 16 to around 150.
