The German shoe retailer, Deichmann, which has more than 3,000 stores in Europe and the US, is planning to expand its UK network. It has been a dominant presence in the UK footwear retail sector, and to mark the 10th anniversary, Deichmann opened a second flagship store at Westfield Stratford City.
The company will also open 10 more stores in the UK, taking the total to 60 by this year-end, investing about £4 million on store development and redevelopment, agencies have reported from the UK. Its long-term plan for the UK envisages up to 400 Deichmann outlets.
Deichmann will also open shortly its eStore in the UK, recognizing the major shift in consumer shopping behavior and to give it virtual national presence.
The fully family- owned, leading European shoe retailer company, had sales of Euro 3.93 billion in 2010, up from Euro 3.4 billion, a 12.5% increase. It sold 125 million pairs of shoes in markets from Turkey to the US.
Any expansion of Deichmann is good news for the Indian footwear exporters as a large number of Indian companies are the manufacturers and suppliers of Deichman brands whose starting retail price £9.99.
According to Mr. Heinrich Deichmann, the CEO of Deichmann Group, “The UK is already a significant contributor to the Deichmann success story. Like the rest of the world we have had to contend with the economic slowdown but, last year, we saw Deichmann UK sell 2.8 million shoes and increase its turnover by 32% to £42.3m. The Group continues to grow its operations across the world and exceed the annual targets that we set’’.
