Shoe Zone

The company was founded in England in 1917. Brothers Michael and Christopher Smith bought controlling shares in the footwear company, Bensonshoe, in 1980 (which was founded by their grandfather.) By 2000, the company had 184 stores and late that year acquired The Oliver Group plc which added a further 258 stores to its portfolio. The company suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns which resulted in declining revenue. In 2020, Shoe Zone raised debt for the first time in 15 years with a £15M CLBILS facility from NatWest. In 2021, Shoe Zone returned a profit of £9.5M and the company announced it was debt free in January 2022. ==Operations==

The company sells approximately 16 million pairs of footwear per year. Shoe Zone also has a charity known as the Shoe Zone Trust which raises money for children's charities. Funds raised by the company have totalled over £2.3 million as of May 2022. ==References==