Luxury shoe chain posts record profits
Luxury shoe chain Kurt Geiger today posted record profits as it looked to another year of strong growth.
The retailer – used by Madonna and former Bond girl Rosamond Pike – said earnings were up 10% to £7.2m in the year to January 28 while sales lifted 5% to £110.5m.
Kurt Geiger added that the current financial year “has started well” with total sales up 22.5% and like-for-like sales achieving “double digit growth”.
It said around 90% of its sales came from its concessions in department stores such as Harrods, Selfridges, House of Fraser and John Lewis.
The record results follow the sale of Kurt Geiger from Harrods to management and Barclays Private Equity for £46m in July.
Chief executive Neil Clifford said: “2005 was a significant year for Kurt Geiger.
“We have achieved record growth, opened new outlets, entered new partnerships and launched into international markets.
“We are confident that this success will continue in 2006 and beyond.”
Kurt Geiger, which also sells accessories, opened four new stores and six concessions last year to take its total number of outlets to 87.
It has opened five more stores this year including at Luton Airport and in Liverpool’s Met Quarter, where early trading has been 20% above expectations.
The company, which recently opened in Paris, is due to launch a new flagship store in London’s Regent Street in August and has identified a further 20 sites across the UK for new outlets over the next four years.
It has also started to trade over the internet and sales on its website kurtgeiger.com have doubled forecasts since starting in October last year.
Kurt Geiger is Europe’s largest luxury shoe chain and is the largest retailer of Gucci and Prada in Europe. It also sells brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith and Versace.
