Store closures have plagued British high streets all year, with major retailers like Sainsbury’s, WHSmith, Dobbies, and Marks and Spencer forced to shut down their shops.
Shoezone has joined the onslaught of closures, a move retail bosses say has been prompted by the Labour Government’s Budget costs.
The retailer, which employs around 2,250 staff across 297 UK stores, stated that the Chancellor’s decision to increase employers’ national insurance contributions and the minimum wage has resulted in “significant additional costs”.
As a result, Shoezone has shut several no longer viable stores, although the exact number and impact on employees have not been disclosed.
It follows the loss of 63 branches in the year to October 1, 2022, and 26 net closures in the year to September 28, 2024.
A branch on Watford High Street, Hertfordshire, was the first to close in 2024. The Shoezone site was reportedly in the process of closing down for several months, starting in June 2023, though it didn’t vacate its position between Greggs and Pret a Manger until this January.
At the start of the year, shops in Newton Abbot, Devon, Hinckley, Leicester, and Cromer, Norfolk, were all earmarked for closure, while other sites were set to relocate to new-format stores. Branches in Ipswich and Weymouth relocated to new “big box and hybrid” format stores, which were part of the retailer’s plans to overhaul its estate portfolio.
Despite some new openings (27 in the year to September 28, 2024), Shoezone said it had seen “very challenging trading conditions” since the end of September.
Bosses claimed that shoppers have pulled back spending amid unseasonal weather, adding that consumer confidence had weakened further since the Budget in October.
According to PA, company shares plunged by as much as 49 percent on Wednesday morning as the company cautioned that annual profits would be lower than expected due to the tough trading and extra wage bill.
Shoe Zone has issued a profit warning, the second in just two months, after previously reducing its forecast in October for the year ending September 28, 2024. The company cited disappointing summer weather for the slump in sales.
The retailer announced that annual sales dipped by 2.7 percent, which it anticipates will result in profits for 2023 to 2024 of “not less than” £9.6 million, a stark contrast to the £16.2 million reported in the prior year.
The Daily Express has approached the retailer to determine which stores are affected.
