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Shoe Zone has halved its profit expectations for the year to 27 September 2025, downgrading it to “no less than” £5m, down from the previous guidance of £10m.
It comes as the high street shoe retailer experienced “very challenging trading conditions” for the first two months of FY25 and the first half of December, with the group also warning of store closures across its estate.
The retailer said that a weakening consumer confidence and “unseasonal” weather were to blame for a decrease in revenues and profits.
Consumer confidence has “weakened further”, Shoe Zone wrote in its trading update, following the government’s autumn budget, which will also see the company incur “significant” additional costs in National Insurance contributions and national living wages.
As a result of these additional costs, the retailer said it has planned the permanent closure of a number of its stores “that have now become unviable”.
Shoe Zone operates in town centres and retail parks from a portfolio of 297 stores and employs 2,250 people across the UK.
According to the retailer, it sells 13.9 million pairs of shoes in a regular year at an average price of approximately £13.30.
