Shoe Zone

Shoe Zone (stylised as shoezone) is a footwear retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland which sells shoes at low prices. It has over 500 stores in different cities and towns throughout the UK and Ireland and over 4,000 employees. The company has an annual turnover of £241 million. The company's headquarters are located in Leicester, England.[2][3]

A store in Kirkstall, England
Shoe Zone plc
FormerlyBensonshoe
TypePublic limited company
AIM: SHOE
ISINGB00BLTVCF91
IndustryFootwear
Founded21 July 1917 (1917-07-21) in Leicester, England
Founders
  • Michael Smith
  • Christopher Smith
HeadquartersLeicester, England, UK
Number of locations
519 (2017)
Areas served
Key people
Revenue 122.5m (2020)
(11.9m) (2020)
Owners
  • Anthony Smith (28.05%)
  • Charles Smith (22.43%)
Number of employees
3,428 (2020)
Websitewww.shoezone.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

The company was founded in England in 1980 when brothers Michael and Christopher Smith bought controlling shares in a footwear company, Bensonshoe, that had been founded by their grandfather.[4] The company acquired Leicester based Tylers in 1986 adding a further 61 branches to the business.[4] By 2000, the company had 184 branches and late that year acquired The Oliver Group plc which added a further 258 stores to its portfolio.[4] The French comedian, Rémi Gaillard briefly worked at the Wembley branch in the 1990s before being dismissed. [5]

On 8 September 2007, Shoe Zone bought the shoe retailer Shoefayre for an undisclosed sum from its parent, The Co-operative Group, adding 300 stores to Shoe Zone's portfolio.[4] On 28 November 2009, it bought Leicester-based Stead & Simpson and converted many stores to the Shoe Zone brand.

In 2021 the company made headlines when Finance director Peter Foot was replaced by Terry Boot. [6]

The company suffered from the Covid-19 crisis and related lockdowns which resulted in declining revenue. In 2020, Shoe Zone raised debt for the first time in 15 years with a £15M CLBILS facility from NatWest.[7]

Operations


The company sells approximately 20 million pairs of footwear per year.[8] Shoe Zone also has a small charity branch known as the Shoe Zone Trust which donates a proportion of the company's profits to cancer research and charitable organisations. They also helped Children In Need raise nearly £200,000.

References
  1. "Annual Report 2020". Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  2. Mills, Lauren (2017-09-26). "Shoe Zone makes great strides in its 100th year". leicestermercury. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  3. "SHOE ZONE PLC - Overview (Free company information from Companies House)".
  4. "Our Story". Shoezone. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. "Rémi Gaillard: Clothes, Outfits, Brands, Style and Looks". Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  6. "Shoe Zone announces Terry Boot as next finance boss - replacing Peter Foot". Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  7. "New Coverage: Shoe Zone Remains in Rental Term Talks With Landlords After Missed Payments, in Discussion With Suppliers on Delivery Disruption Amid Falling Revenue". Reorg. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. "What We Do: Shoe Zone Business Description - Shoe Zone Plc". www.shoezone.com. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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