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 announced plans to open ten new outlets across the UK during 2009.
The company believes the UK could see up to 400 Deichmann outlets opening up in the long-run.
Deichmann already has 31 stores in the UK – predominantly 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 Centre 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 meaning 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 retailer 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 imported into Europe in the 1980s by Deichmann and has since been replicated by many competitors 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. 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 affordable 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.
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Notes to editors
The DEICHMANN Group, based in Essen, Germany and founded in 1913 is still entirely owned by the founding family. The company is the market leader in the European shoe retail trade and employs more than 28,000 people worldwide. DEICHMANN operates stores in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Denmark, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Romania, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania and Turkey. The group also has a presence in Switzerland (Dosenbach/ Ochsner / Ochsner Sport), the Netherlands (vanHaran) and the US (Rack Room Shoes / Off Broadway). The group intends to enter the Bulgarian market in 2009 and the Spanish marketplace in 2010.
