All Shoe Intelligence articles in Volume 27, Issue 1+2

View all stories from this issue.

  • News briefs

    Nice Footwear obtains the Lyle & Scott footwear license

    2024-12-20T08:30:00Z

    Nice Brand Lab, the business unit of the Italian footwear company Nice Footwear specializing in licensed footwear for the group, has entered into a license agreement with the Scottish fashion brand Lyle & Scott to develop and distribute footwear collections in Europe. Nice Footwear was previously in charge of the ...

  • News briefs

    French footwear exports flat

    2024-12-20T08:30:00Z

    In the first 10 months of 2024, French footwear exports totaled €4.6 billion, in line with the same period last year, according to Alliance France Cuir. Overall exports of French leather goods increased by 3 percent to €10.7 billion over the period.

  • News briefs

    Joybees names Ken Dayley CEO

    2024-12-20T08:30:00Z

    Joybees said that its board has named Ken Dayley as Chief Executive Officer. The casual lifestyle footwear brand was founded in 2018 in Denver, Colorado. “Mr. Dayley has more than 15 years of experience successfully marketing and growing well-known direct-to-consumer brands through strategic digital transformations, achieving profitable growth and thriving ...

  • Shoe Zone logo
    Article

    Shoe Zone sees full-year profits halved as sales fall on weak consumer confidence, weather

    2024-12-20T08:29:00Z

    Shoe Zone has halved earnings forecasts in another profit warning and claimed that recent tax and wage measures in the recent British government’s budget would force it to close an unspecified number of stores. The low-cost UK footwear retailer said it had experienced “very challenging trading conditions” between the start ...

  • News briefs

    Salamander reorganizes its sales team

    2024-12-19T12:29:00Z

    The Swiss shoe manufacturer AstorMueller AG has reorganized the sales department of the Salamander brand, which it acquired last year. Wholesale and e-commerce expert Pia Fuhrländer will be responsible for European sales. Fuhrländer has more than 20 years of experience in the fashion, footwear and lifestyle industry. From 2013 to ...

  • News briefs

    Sonja Balodis leaves s.Oliver

    2024-12-19T12:29:00Z

    The German footwear brand s.Oliver announced that Sonja Balodis, Managing Director of its Comma womenswear brand, will leave the company at the end of the year to pursue new professional challenges. Balodis has been in charge of the brand since May. She was already part of the s.Oliver Group for ...

  • News briefs

    Vista starts fall/winter 2025/26 sales campaign with a new agent for Bavaria

    2024-12-19T12:29:00Z

    The German footwear company Vista is starting the fall/winter 2025/26 sales campaign with a new agent for Bavaria. In the future, Stephan Simon’s Agentur Simon will be looking after the shoe importer, wholesaler and manufacturer’s customers in Bavaria from its Munich office. It replaces the Agentur Lehner, which was previously ...

  • News briefs

    Birkenstock loses appeal against Aldi over sandal design

    2024-12-18T17:15:00Z

    Birkenstock has lost an appeal in a legal dispute with Aldi over the design of a sandal featuring a large buckle, sold by the German discount supermarket chain. Birkenstock had filed several claims against Aldi, including violations of design and competition law, as well as demands for information and financial ...

  • News briefs

    Italian GDP seen up 0.5% in 2025

    2024-12-18T17:15:00Z

    The economic research institute Prometeia has cut its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Italy this year to 0.5 percent from a previous 0.8 percent. In an economic forecast report, Prometeia estimated that GDP in Italy would also rise by 0.5 percent in 2025. Growth is expected to ...

  • Birkenstock logo IPO
    Article

    Birkenstock posts higher-than-expected Q4 results

    2024-12-18T17:13:00Z

    Birkenstock reported revenues of €456 million in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, up by 22 percent on the year earlier on both a reported and constant currency basis. Financial analysts were expecting a top line of €440 million. The sandal maker posted strong double-digit revenue growth across all segments, ...

  • News briefs

    UK’s to 1% shopping destination command 30% of consumer spend

    2024-12-18T16:48:00Z

    The top 1 percent of the UK’s shopping destinations represent 30 percent of consumer spending in brick-and-mortar stores, prompting brands to focus on the best locations, according to Mark Allan, Chief Executive Officer of the British property group Landsec. “The top 1 percent of the UK’s shopping destinations provide brands ...

  • Hong Fu Industrial
    Article

    Hong Fu breaks ground on its Tamil Nadu factory

    2024-12-17T07:39:00Z

    On Dec. 16, MK Stalin, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, laid the foundation stone for a manufacturing unit of the Taiwanese footwear firm Hong Fu Industrial Group at the SIPCOT Park Industrial Estate at Panapakkam in the Ranipet district. The 1,500 crore rupee (€168 million) ...

  • News briefs

    Capri reportedly ready to sell Jimmy Choo and Versace

    2024-12-16T09:04:00Z

    Capri Holdings is working with the British bank Barclays to find buyers for Jimmy Choo and Versace, according to the magazine WWD. A data room with confidential information on the businesses is being set up now for potential buyers and Barclays would like to start receiving indications of interest before ...

  • News briefs

    Birkenstock appoints new Head of sports and outdoor Europe

    2024-12-16T09:04:00Z

    Birkenstock has hired Selim Say as Head of sports and outdoor Europe. The 52-year-old, who announced his appointment on his LinkedIn page, brings a wealth of experience in the footwear industry. He worked for more than 20 years in various positions in the footwear industry, including for companies such as ...

  • News briefs

    Sabu appoints new senior buyer

    2024-12-16T08:05:00Z

    The German shoe retail cooperative Sabu has hired a new senior buyer. Marc Meyer took on the new role on Dec. 1 and is now responsible for supplier partnership management, collection sourcing, purchasing analysis and the creation of Sabu programs and ordering recommendations for the Sabu stores, the cooperative said ...

  • News briefs

    ANWR moves Order Summer No.2 dates to avoid overlap with Micam

    2024-12-16T08:05:00Z

    The German footwear buying group ANWR has decided to postpone its Order Summer No.2 fair by one day to avoid any overlap with the Italian trade fair Micam. The footwear fair will now be held from Sept. 10 to 11, 2025. “We want to offer the most attractive show with ...

  • News briefs

    German GDP growth seen weak in 2025

    2024-12-16T08:04:00Z

    Germany’s calendar-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) is now expected to rise just 0.2 percent in 2025 after a projected 0.2 percent decline this year, according to the latest bi-annual forecasts from the Bundesbank, the German central bank. In its previous forecast released in July, the Bundesbank forecast GDP growth of ...

  • News briefs

    ​Steve’s raises over €187,000 in its crowdfunding campaign

    2024-12-16T08:04:00Z

    Steve’s, an Italian producer of sustainable premium sneakers, raised €187,328 in a crowdfunding campaign that closed on Oct. 24 thanks to the contribution of 51 investors. The startup was seeking to raise between €100,000 and €300,000 through the Mamacrowd platform. Founded in 2022 in Turin by Giulia Gandini and Filippo ...

  • News briefs

    Shoe Carnival renews its share buyback program

    2024-12-13T12:04:00Z

    Shoe Carnival’s board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $50 million in common stock, effective Jan. 1. It replaces a $50 million share buyback program that was authorized on Dec. 14, 2023, and expires on Dec. 31, 2024. The board also approved the payment of a quarterly ...

  • Designer Brands
    Article

    Designer Brands continues to ‘de-weatherize‘ business as Q3 boot sales slump 27%

    2024-12-13T12:04:00Z

    Designer Brands said it would continue to take steps to reduce its reliance on seasonal footwear after sales of boots slumped 27 percent in the third quarter ended Nov. 2, nearly double the 15 percent decline it had forecast. Slumping boot sales came amid unseasonably warm weather in September and ...