Co Op sells Shoefayre to rival Shoe Zone
12/09/2007
The Shoe Zone Group has announced that, on 7th September, it exchanged contracts with The Co-operative Group to buy its footwear retail business, Shoefayre, for an undisclosed sum.
Shoefayre, which employs around 1,900 staff in its 240 stores across the UK, reported operating losses of more than £6m last year. It is said to have struggled with increasing competition and difficult trading conditions, and was identified as non-core by owner The Co Operative Group. The group said "In the circumstances, a sale of the business to a well-known and profitable footwear retailer is both logical and desirable."
Anthony Smith, Shoe Zone Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to acquire the Shoefayre business and play a major part in the much needed consolidation of the footwear market.
We look forward to continuing the process of returning the Shoefayre business back to profitability over the coming months"
Shoe Zone is also based in Leicestershire, and has 400 stores across the UK that reported sales of more than £150m. It employs over 3,000 people, and has not commented on the future of Shoefayre jobs.
