Shoe Zone has lowered its profit before tax expectations for the current financial year from £10m to £5m, amid "challenging trading conditions" as it plans to close stores.

The shoe retailer said that this performance was a result of a "weakening of consumer confidence and unseasonal weather", which have both decreased revenue and profit.

Furthermore, it added that the Government’s Budget in October has also weakened customer confidence, and increases in national insurance and the national living wage are set to incur "significant additional costs".

As a result, Shoe Zone announced that it would close a number of stores that have now become "unviable".

The firm said that it will provide its financial results for the year to 28 September 2024 and has stated that it is "not proposing to pay a final dividend".

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said: "Perhaps Shoe Zone’s offering isn’t resonating with shoppers as much as it used to. At the very least, you would hope management is looking at what’s gone wrong rather than attributing everything to external factors.

"The company cannot be accused of putting its feet up – it is shuttering stores and suspending the dividend in response to the downturn in trading. This isn’t the first shock the company has delivered in 2024, with a cybersecurity incident and higher shipping costs among the bad news shareholders have had to absorb.

"The company’s reliance on its Chinese supply chain is a potential source of volatility and management, including executive chair Charles Smith and finance director Terry Boot, will be under pressure to turn things around if they are not to get the boot themselves."

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