Shoe Zone plc
Shoe Zone plc is a UK footwear retailer selling affordable, own-label and branded footwear for the whole family through physical stores (269 at year end, including 201 larger "new format" stores) and digital channels (shoezone.com, Amazon, eBay). The group sources the vast majority of product from overseas manufacturers in China, and to a lesser extent India and Europe, and is in the midst of a multi-year programme to refit/relocate its store estate into a new larger format.
10 annual reports read, FY2016 to FY2025
Open a year to see what its report said. Every line in it carries the page it was read from.
Sources: Companies House (10)
FY2026Next report expected 13 Jan 2027
- Open the reportJSONComing soonSixty seconds on the FY2025 report
Shoe Zone plc, a UK retailer of affordable family footwear, sold less and earned much less in the year to 27 September 2025. Revenue fell to £149.1m from £161.3m, and profit before tax dropped to £3.3m from £10.1m. The company ended the year with fewer shops, though online sales edged up. The report points to weak consumer confidence, higher shipping container prices early in the year, a February promotion, and rises in National Insurance and the National Living Wage. A £0.9m gain from currency movements lifted the result: without it, profit before tax was £2.4m. Cash at the year end rose to £5.9m, with no bank loan drawn, helped by lower spending on stores and stock. There was no dividend, after one the year before. Management said trading stayed difficult early in the new year, with revenue below forecast and the National Living Wage rising further, and expects profit before tax of about £1.0m for the year to 3 October 2026. The directors raised no doubt about the company's ability to keep trading, and the auditor's opinion was clean.
From the reportevery line sits on the page it namesWhat drove revenueUK store sales from 269 trading stores (185→201 new-format stores)
Total revenues £149.1m (2024: £161.3m), down 7.6%; UK stores revenue £112.658m; new format stores generated £88.3m revenue and £9.1m contribution
page 3AndDigital sales (shoezone.com, Amazon, eBay)
Digital revenues £36.0m (2024: £35.2m), up 2.3%; shoezone.com up 1.1% to £19.2m, Amazon up 6.1% to £15.6m, eBay down 7.7% to £1.2m
page 3What moved the marginheadwindContainer/shipping prices
Product margins were 61.0% (2024: 62.8%), down due to higher container prices in H1 and February 2025 BOGOF promotion; container prices subsequently improved
page 5AndheadwindNational Insurance and National Living Wage increases
Distribution costs maintained at £5.7m as wage cost increases were offset by operational efficiency gains; admin expenses impacted by NI/NLW increases, partly offset by FX gain and profit-share scheme cancellation
page 5One-offs in the year£900k credit: Foreign exchange gain on revaluation (excluded from adjusted PBT)
page 3What management saidTrading conditions remained challenging in Q1 of the new financial year, with revenue down on forecast; the Government's November 2025 budget included an additional increase in the National Living Wage. In light of these conditions, the Board expects a profit before tax of approximately £1.0m for the financial year ended 3 October 2026.
page 6The dividend£nil dividend declared for FY25 (both interim and final), with the Company expecting to maintain prudent cash management; £8.042m dividend was paid in FY24 but none in FY25.
page 4Going concern and the auditDirectors concluded going concern basis is appropriate after reviewing capex, staffing, promotions, store numbers, all costs and reasonable downside scenarios of a further 3% and 5% sales reduction; latest cash forecasts show significant headroom within available banking facilities even when sensitized. Unqualified ('true and fair') audit opinion issued by Cooper Parry Group Limited (Catherine Kelly, Senior Statutory Auditor), dated 12 January 2026. Key audit matters: (1) carrying value and impairment of PP&E and right-of-use assets relating to the property portfolio (PPE closing balance £46.3m); (2) IFRS 16 leases (ROU assets £28.1m, lease liabilities £34.6m). Group materiality £887,000 (0.6% of revenue); parent company materiality £843,000 (1.3% of net assets).
page 29The risks it names first- Market and competition — highly competitive, free/open footwear market with low barriers to entry; competitors may have greater scale, resources or lower cost basesp.8
- Identifying fashion and trends — ability to anticipate and respond to evolving consumer preferences and fashion trendsp.8
- Economic factors — volatile/uncertain UK and global economic conditions, inflation, National Minimum Wage/NI increases, interest rates, consumer confidence, geopolitical factors (Ukraine, Middle East, US tariffs)p.8
- Reliance on overseas suppliers — majority of products manufactured overseas (China, India, Europe), exposing the Group to import tax/tariff, trade restriction and foreign legal/regulatory riskp.9
Read from C001189-AR-2025-ch.
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