Shoe Zone (stylised as shoezone) is a budget

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

retailer in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It has over 330 stores in different cities and towns throughout the UK and over 2,500 employees. The company has an annual turnover of £156 million. The company's headquarters are located in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England. Store-Image-620x370

History

The company was founded in England in 1917. Brothers Michael and Christopher Smith bought controlling shares in the footwear company, Bensonshoe, in 1980 (which was founded by their grandfather.) By 2000, the company had 184 stores and late that year acquired The Oliver Group plc which added a further 258 stores to its portfolio. In September 2007, Shoe Zone acquired the shoe retailer Shoefayre for an undisclosed sum from its parent,

The Co-operative Group The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, leg ...

, adding 300 stores to Shoe Zone's portfolio. In January 2009, it bought Leicester-based Stead & Simpson and converted many stores to the Shoe Zone brand. In 2021, the company made headlines when Peter Foot stepped down as finance director and was replaced by Terry Boot, a humorous double example of aptronyms. The company suffered from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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. In 2021, Shoe Zone returned a profit of £9.5M and the company announced it was debt free in January 2022.

Operations

The company sells approximately 16 million pairs of footwear per year. Shoe Zone also has a charity known as the Shoe Zone Trust which raises money for children's charities. Funds raised by the company have totalled over £2.3 million as of May 2022.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Shoe companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Leicester Retail companies established in 1980 1980 establishments in England Footwear retailers Companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market