Shoe Zone cites Budget as it plans to close stores
Shoe Zone is set to close a number of unviable stores as a result of “significant additional costs” brought about by the Autumn Budget.
The footwear retailer – which has almost 300 stores in the UK – said that increases in National Insurance and the National Living Wage, along with reduced consumer confidence, have decreased both revenue and profit.
This comes as Shoe Zone releases a trading update for the first two months of its financial year and the first half of December, a period during which it experienced “challenging trading conditions”.
As a result, the retailer expects its pre-tax adjusted profit for the financial year ending 27 September 2025 to be no lower than £5m, down from its previous expectation of £10m.
Shoe Zone will provide an additional trading statement alongside its 2024 results in January.