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Published
Jul 24, 2020
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Shoe Zone gets new finance director

Published
Jul 24, 2020

Peter Foot has joined the Shoe Zone board of directors to lead the finance function as the company focuses on its recovery following the coronavirus crisis.


Shoe Zone


Foot replaces Jonathan Fearn, who resigned from the role earlier this month after the footwear retailer announced a loss of £2.5 million for the first six months of the year.

He brings over 25 years of industry experience having previously held the finance and operations director position at T&A Footwear Limited. There, he delivered margin improvement, sales growth and cost savings.

He will aim to drive similar achievements at his new employer, which has implemented a series of emergency measures, including permanently closing 20 stores, to save cash following the UK lockdown. 

Revenues at the company fell by £4.1 million to £68.9 million in the first half of the year ended 4 April as retail stores closed their doors to halt the spread of the virus. During the period, Shoe Zone also experienced disruption in its supply chain and furloughed the majority of its employees.

Cash conservation remains a priority at the footwear chain post-lockdown. Although online sales have grown strongly during the past few months, in-store trading is expected to remain challenging over the rest of the year.

"Whilst the group has taken all possible steps to ensure that the business will survive through the crisis and continue into the future, the impact is likely to continue to be felt for several years,” Shoe Zone said in a statement in June.

The retailer emerged from the lockdown with 470 stores, instead of 490, and an undisclosed number of head office roles have been made redundant.

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