Income of £71.5m was down 6.5% yr on yr for the interval. Store income fell 10.3% to £53.3m, as Shoe Zone traded out of 31 fewer shops in contrast with 12 months in the past.
Digital gross sales rose 6.4% yr on yr to £18.2m, after introduction of free next-day supply on all Shoezone.com orders within the fourth quarter of the final monetary yr.
Adjusted loss earlier than tax for the primary half of 2025/26 was £2.6m, which the corporate stated was “according to administration expectations”.
Within the half-year interval, Shoe Zone closed 21 shops, opened two new-format items and refitted two to a brand new bigger format, giving a complete of 278 shops.
It stated: “In complete we are actually buying and selling out of 91 Authentic shops and 187 new-format shops. We’re actively working to relocate and refit additional shops within the second half of the yr, along with various shops at the moment within the pipeline, which can open earlier than Christmas.” The corporate stated its “final aim” is to have round 260 shops in complete.
It credited its enhancements in digital gross sales partially to its retailer community: “A part of the continued success is our environment friendly returns course of, which is complemented by our retailer community, and consequently we keep our returns charge at 11.4%, the overwhelming majority of that are returned to shops, therefore why our bodily community is so essential to the long run success of the digital channel.”
Shoe Zone lower its full-year revenue earlier than tax forecast from £10m to £5m, citing “difficult buying and selling situations we skilled, significantly within the first quarter of this monetary yr, due to weak client confidence and unseasonal climate situations”.
It added: “On account of the adjustments introduced within the October 2024 Finances, we can even incur further Nationwide Insurance coverage and Nationwide Dwelling Wage prices within the second half of this monetary yr.
“The second quarter has proven enchancment, however the buying and selling surroundings continues to be troublesome as client confidence continues to be low. In the course of the second quarter, we’ve got seen extra stability/discount within the value of containers and a strengthening of sterling towards the greenback, each of which can begin to profit within the second half of this monetary yr.”
