Shoe Zone now has more than 400 stores
Shoe Zone has joined the list of retailers warning of shipping headaches, with the chain having seen “a minimum of a five-fold increase” in container prices over the last year.
The AIM-listed footwear chain’s chief executive Anthony Smith also cautioned: “This will continue to impact us for at least a further six months until the issues being experienced in the whole supply chain return to more sensible levels.”
The Covid-19 crisis has led to backlogs and delays for a number of companies importing goods, plus there has been heightened demand for space on ships as online orders soared for a number of retailers.
Shoe Zone’s update came in the same week the Financial Times reported that container shipping company Maersk had been diverting some big vessels away from the UK to other European ports from which smaller ships will be used for deliveries here.
In the year to October 2 Shoe Zone, whose finance director is called Terry Boot, saw revenue decline to £119.1 million from £122.6 million.
It was hit by temporary store closures during lockdowns, but did record a jump in online growth.
Smith said: “These are a solid set of preliminary results but there is still uncertainty ahead of us in the next 12 months, not only with the continuing impact of Covid, but also the challenges we face with the global supply chain and inflationary pressures.”
