Weak pound hits profits at Leicester footwear giant

The weak pound has hit profits at Leicester-based footwear retailer Shoe Zone, according to results posted this morning (10 January).

For the year-ending 30 September 2017, Shoe Zone profits dropped from £10.3m to £9.5m, with the firm blaming “the adverse impact of foreign exchange on imported goods into the UK” for the fall.

Turnover was also down over the year – from £159.8m in 2016, to £157.8m last year.

Nick Davis, chief executive of Shoe Zone, said: “I am pleased with the Group’s performance in what continues to be a challenging retail environment. We are still well positioned in the market given our strong value retail proposition and continue to manage our store portfolio successfully through our ongoing store rationalisation and refit programme. Following a successful trial of the Big Box concept during 2017, we are now targeting 10 new Big Box stores per year in the medium term.”

“We continue to make good progress against our strategic objectives and have made a solid start to the year with trading in line with expectations. The Board remains positive about the outlook for the Group for the remainder of the year.”