Shoe shop giant Shoezone had around 320 stores in May 2024 but reduced its portfolio to 297 by the end of the year.
Bosses warned that the high street retailer could reduce its store estate further in 2025 after it confirmed the closure of more than a dozen “unviable” branches just last month.
Anthony Smith, Shoezone’s Chief Executive, revealed: “Shoezone has experienced very challenging trading conditions, principally a weakening of consumer confidence and unseasonal weather, both of which have decreased revenue and profit.
“Consumer confidence has weakened further following the Government’s budget in October 2024.”
The retail boss claimed that the company would “incur significant additional costs due to the increases in National Insurance and the National Living Wage”, which he blamed for the ultimate closure of 20 stores.
No definitive list of sites earmarked to close has been announced. Still, it is reported that spots thought to be headed for closure in London include Wembley, Holloway and Harrow, and nationwide hotspots to be affected include Leeds, York, Newcastle and Sheffield.
Currently, none of the stores are safe, and bosses are assessing all of their locations before providing notice of permanent closures.
It comes after new figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that more than 13,000 high street stores closed last year (2024). It showed that UK retail store closures jumped by more than a quarter on the previous year.
As for the Shoezone stores at risk of imminent closure, the list is as follows.
Shoezone has a long history of store closures, with 13 branches closing in 2023 and 63 stores closing in the year to October 2022.
Several sites ceased trading in 2024, including one in Kilmarnock’s main shopping centre, the Burns Mall. It emerged that the shopping centre had been put up for sale for a hefty £2.85million price tag, prompting Shoezone’s exit.
Another site on Watford High Street in Hertfordshire shut in the first few days of January 2024, along with shops in Newton Abbot (Devon), Hinckley (Leicester), and Cromer (Norfolk).
Two more sites in Ipswich and Weymouth were earmarked for relocation to retail sites, which would replace their high street units.
According to the retailer, its store closures and openings were part of a bigger plan to move to “big box and hybrid” format stores.
