Shoe Zone warns on profit as it plans store closures
Shoe Zone has announced that it has seen a decrease in revenue and profit in the first two months of its financial year due to “very challenging” trading conditions.
The footwear retailer said trading was impacted by wet weather and weakened consumer confidence in October, adding that market conditions had deteriorated further since the Government’s budget announcement at the end that month.
In a trading update, Shoe Zone said: “As a result of this budget, the company will also incur significant additional costs due to the increases in National Insurance and the National Living Wage.
“These additional costs have resulted in the planned closure of a number of stores that have now become unviable.
“The combination of the above will have a significant impact on our full year figures.”
Shoe Zone is now expecting its adjusted pre-tax profit for the year ending 27 September 2025 to be not less than £5 million compared to a previous expectation of £10 million.
The company operates 297 stores of which of 112 are high street shops and 185 are larger format stores.
