NEWS Europe’s largest shoe retailer to invest in UK high street
German shoe retailer Deichmann, which has more than 2,500 stores in Europe and the US and sells shoes at a starting price of £9.99, has an- nounced plans to open ten new outlets across the UK during 2009. The company believes the UK could see up to 450 Deichmann outlets opening up in the long-run. Deichmann already has 31
stores in the UK – predomi- nantly based in the Midlands and North of England. This week, it will begin its drive in the South East with the opening of a flagship 7,300 square feet unit at the Westfield Shopping Cen- tre in London. The retailing giant expects to invest approximately £4.5 million on store development and create 150 new jobs in the UK before the end of the year. While the recession has left
retailers suffering their most torrid time in decades, Deichmann believes that the British high street offers strong opportunities for its range of fashionable and affordable shoes. The new stores will require a floorspace of between 3,500-5,000 square feet mean- ing that it is actively looking to do “interesting deals” with retail landlords at some of the vacant spaces left by the likes of Woolworths and Zavvi. Traditionally, a British shoe re-
tailer would want each of its outlets to be approximately 1,500 square feet, but Deichmann’s rack room (i.e. self- service) presentation requires greater floorspace, allowing customers to look for their own shoes and size instead of relying on a shop assistant to find them another style, size or colour. The shoes are presented in their original boxes, sorted by brands and ready to try on. Rack Room presentation was im- ported into Europe in the 1980s by Deichmann and has since been replicated by many com- petitors including Brantano in the UK. Heinrich Deichmann, the CEO
of Deichmann Group, says: “The UK is a key market for us. We see a great deal of opportunity
for expansion here across the next ten years. Even with the difficult economic environment we see a positive pattern of opportunity and will scale-up our presence accordingly. “The nature of our business
means that we are able to finance our plans organically without the need to raise external capital.” Last month (February)
Deichmann Group, still entirely owned by the founding family, announced that its global revenue rose by 6.2% from ¤2.94 billion in 2007 to ¤3.12 billion. In the past year it has sold more than 127 million pairs of shoes in markets stretching from Turkey to the US. Over half (50.7%) of these sales were from outside Germany.
Mr Deichmann adds:
“Whether shopping for women’s, men’s or children’s shoes, people will always want good quality, fashionable items at fantastic prices. Our aim is to make fashionable shoes afford- able and accessible to everyone. When we opened our first store in Italy last year we had a great response from, arguably, the true ‘home’ of fashion.” Creating a strong link to
fashionable icons has been a recent key pillar of the company’s marketing activity. Recent initiatives have included alliances with both the pop groups Sugababes and Pussycat Dolls. Deichmann expects to reveal its new global brand ambassador – described as an international ‘icon’ – shortly.
Dachser and Azkar stabilise partnership - German logistics provider acquires a 10% share in Azkar
The international logistics provider, Dachser has acquired a 10% share in the Spanish logistics provider Azkar. With this, the two companies are stabilising the excellent partnership entered into two years ago. The logistics provider,
Dachser, and Azkar launched their cooperation on 15th December 2006. The partnership between the two family-owned enterprises has developed to such a positive
4 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • MAY 2009
degree over the past two years that the managements of both companies have decided to set their business relations on a more stable footing. For this reason, Dachser has
acquired a 10% stake in the Spanish market leader. Azkar has established a good reputation in Spain and across borders as a specialist in particular for full-coverage Spanish and international groupage services and contract logistics. Azkar was founded in
1933, and is today the market leader in the Iberian Peninsula, currently employing more than 5,000 staff. The company has a full-coverage groupage network with 73 branches of its own in Spain and Portugal, and generated sales worth around EUR 400 million in 2008. Dachser managing director,
Michael Schilling, is pleased about the positive development over the past two years. “Azkar is an important partner for us,
who sets the same exacting standards in logistics as we do.“ In terms of their philosophy and size, the two companies complement each other ideally. “We are confident that the financial participation will bring a new degree of positive cooperation to the partnership.” The international logistics
provider, Dachser, employs more than 18,000 staff working in over 300 profit centres worldwide.
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