All Shoe Intelligence articles in Volume 27, Issue 7+8
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PDF NewsletterShoe Intelligence Executive Edition: Vol. 27 - 7+8
Peru and Guatemala shoemakers target new markets | German footwear retailers struggle as sales plummet | Austria loses 13% of its shoe stores as footwear retail crisis deepens | Ecco had to shore up its balance sheet in 2024 due to unsatisfactory results | Geox sees growth accelerating over the course of five-year industrial plan | Golden Goose’s sales accelerate in Q4 | C-Suite interview: Valleverde expects stable revenues in 2025 and calls for European import duties | Ferragamo cautious about the short term | Ludwig Reiter closes historic company headquarters in Vienna | Coats upgrades targets as footwear sales, earnings stride ahead | Stella’s operating income rises 15.7% in 2024 | Yue Yuen reports improved FY results on manufacturing rebound | Skechers sees signs of stabilization in China, caution in US | Genesco sees steady sales as store closures, remodels continue to be a focus | Allbirds banking on new assortments, initiatives to fly high again in late 2025 | Designer Brands resumes comparable sales growth in Q4, sees more ahead in FY25 | Caleres sees sales continuing to fall in Q1 amid consumer headwinds, retailer caution | Weyco’s sales steady in Q4 | Shoe Carnival ramps up Shoe Station rebannering plans | Azzas 2154’s footwear sales growth accelerates as DTC shines and franchise sales recover | C-Suite interview: Piccadilly celebrates 70 years with good growth prospects | Zalando sees GMV, revenues up 4-9% in 2025 | Spartoo’s sales drop but its cash flow improves | Inditex’s sales slow down in the opening weeks of fiscal 2025 | H&M’s sales rise slightly in Q1 | Forever 21’s US operating company files for bankruptcy | Next hikes its sales and earnings guidance | How Gardabags aims to become the largest trade fair for mass-market bags | How a dropshipper enables foreign footwear companies to enter the US market
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News briefs
Primark’s CEO steps down on alleged misconduct
Paul Marchant has resigned as CEO of Primark, according to the retailer’s parent, Associated British Foods (ABF). Eoin Tonge, ABF’s Finance Director, has stepped in to serve as Primark’s Chief Executive on an interim basis and will be working with its senior Primark and Strategic Advisory Board. Joana Edwards, ABF’s ...
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ArticleEcco had to shore up its balance sheet in 2024 due to unsatisfactory results
Last year, shareholders had to inject €48 million to reinforce the balance sheet of Ecco Sko A/S, the parent company of the Danish footwear, accessories and leather giant, in the wake of unsatisfactory results. The cash call “supported the solidity ratio” of the parent company “despite the unsatisfactory results of ...
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News briefs
Maximilian Krien leaves ANWR Schuh after 12 years
ANWR Schuh’s Head of Business Unit Retail Solutions, Maximilian Krien, is leaving the footwear business of the German buying group ANWR at the end of June to pursue a new professional challenge. Krien has worked at ANWR Schuh for twelve years, spending almost his entire career with the group. He ...
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ArticleEuropeans buying and discarding clothing and shoes at record levels
Europeans are buying and discarding more clothing, footwear and other textiles than ever before, which, as a result, is putting more pressure on the climate and environment, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing. “The updated consumption data highlights the need for policymakers, industry and consumers to play their ...
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News briefs
Sports Gear opens a factory in Portugal
Sports Gear, a Taiwanese group specializing in sports footwear and supplying major brands such as Adidas, Nike and Puma, has invested €15.3 million in a factory in the Portuguese town of Estarreja, the Portuguese daily Diário de Notícias reported. Inaugurated on March 7, the factory currently employs 20 workers, but ...
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News briefs
China footwear exports drop in volume and value in 2024
China exported 9.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, up by 3.3 percent year-over-year. But in value, exports were down by 4.9 percent to $46.9 billion, according to data released by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). Chinese imports of footwear in 2024 grew by 7.5 percent to 200 million ...
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News briefs
ILM announces dates for 2026
The 163rd edition of ILM, the international leather goods fair held in Offenbach am Main, near Frankfurt, is scheduled to take place from Feb. 7 to Feb. 9, 2026, the organizer of the event, Messe Offenbach, announced. The dates were deliberately chosen to coincide with the Ambiente consumer ...
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News briefs
Zegna’s full-year net profit slips on higher tax rate
Ermenegildo Zegna posted a net profit of €90.9 million in 2024, down from €135.7 million the year earlier, in part due to the group’s effective tax rate returning to a more standard level of 30 percent from 20 percent in the previous year. The gross margin increased to 66.6 percent ...
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ArticleNext hikes its sales and earnings guidance
Annual pre-tax profits at Next passed £1 billion (€1.2bn) for the first time as the UK fashion retailer boosted its sales and earnings outlook after a strong start to the current fiscal year, but warned of deteriorating consumer confidence amid higher living costs. Pre-tax profits rose by 10.1 percent to ...
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News briefs
Altofare reportedly to renegotiate its debt
Altofare, an Italian supplier of components to the luxury goods industry, including footwear, is preparing to renegotiate its debt with creditors, according to the news agency Bloomberg. The group has hired the consultancy KPMG and the law firm Chiomenti for advice on its debt, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with ...
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News briefs
Foot Locker has a new President
Foot Locker has announced that Franklin R. Bracken, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, has been named President, effective immediately. Bracken will continue reporting to Mary Dillon, the group’s Chief Executive Officer. As President, Bracken will work alongside Dillon to accelerate the execution of the Lace Up Plan, the ...
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News briefs
Decathlon has a new CEO
Javier López has replaced Barbara Martin Coppola as the CEO of Decathlon. López has been with the company for 26 years and held numerous positions in digital, logistics and retail. He headed Decathlon Germany from 2012 to 2015, served as CEO of Decathlon Spain from 2015 to 2022 and became ...
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News briefs
German consumer confidence improves slightly after the general election
Germany’s consumer climate is expected to improve to -24.5 points in April from -24.6 in March, according to a preliminary estimate by the GfK Consumer Climate powered by NIM, which is published jointly by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM). It was the first survey after the ...
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ArticleH&M’s sales rise slightly in Q1
H&M Hennes & Mauritz said that in the first quarter ended Feb. 28 net sales rose a reported 3 percent to SEK 55.333 billion (€5.10bn). The top line inceased by 2 perent in local currencies with 3 percent fewer stores compared with the same period last year. In March, H&M ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Valleverde expects stable revenues in 2025 and calls for European import duties
Valleverde is one of Italy’s most famous footwear brands with a presence of more than 40 years in its home market. Known for its comfort shoes and television commercials with the American actor Kevin Costner, Valleverde nevertheless filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of 2013. After six bankruptcy auctions ...
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News briefs
Peter Kaiser opens outlet in Pirmasens
The women’s footwear brand Peter Kaiser has opened its new outlet in Pirmasens, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, on the occasion of an open day at Caprice Schuhproduktion earlier this month. More than 1,000 visitors attended the event, according to Caprice. They were offered an insight into the footwear ...
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News briefs
Otto Group appoints a new CEO
The German mail order company Otto, owner of the Freemans, About You, Bonprix and Evri businesses, has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Financial Officer, Petra Scharner-Wolff, was promoted to the role as Alexander Birken leaves the board after more than eight years as CEO to become Chairman ...
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News briefs
H.H. Brown launches the brand Align
H.H. Brown launched its newest brand, Align, whose collection ranges from sneakers and lace-ups to loafers and oxfords. The shoes include a premium dual-density footbed for optimal support, weatherproof leathers and sealed-seam construction for added durability, and slip-resistant outsoles for improved grip, the US footwear group said. Align’s spring/summer 2025 ...
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ArticleSpartoo’s sales drop but its cash flow improves
In 2024, Spartoo suffered a 7.7 percent decline in gross merchandise value (GMV) to €184.7 million, resulting in an 8.7 percent drop in revenues to €130.5 million. The French omnichannel fashion retailer generated €114.9 million of its GMV in France, down 6.9 percent year-over-year, and €69.8 million abroad, down by ...
