Shoe retailer Office doubles profit to over £100m as it creates hundreds of jobs

The group that operates shoe retailer Office has reported a significant hike in profits, surpassing £100m as it continued to expand with new store openings and created numerous jobs.

In the year leading to 30 June, 2024, the business— which also owns Offspring— declared a substantial pre-tax profit of £102.4m, as reported by City AM.

This announcement marks considerable growth from the previous financial year's pre-tax profit of £47.7m.

Office has witnessed a consistent profit increase since recording a pre-tax loss of £131.9m in June 2020, followed by a loss of £114m the preceding year.

According to freshly submitted records at Companies House, the group saw an upsurge in revenue from £265.3m to £294.3m.

By the close of the financial term, the group was running a total of 75 stores, an uptick from 70, as well as 11 concessions throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Furthermore, the average headcount in the group rose from 1,617 to 1,830 employees over the year.

With an ambitious eye on further expanding its retail presence, Office has stepped up plans for opening additional stores.

The board, in a statement, noted: "Trading conditions were much improved in the period under review."

The board observed, "Although still negative, consumer confidence has improved steadily since the start of the period."

They also commented on the ongoing fiscal pressures, stating: "However, consumer spending remained under pressure as a result of the fall in real disposable incomes that the UK has experienced since late 2021 combined with relatively high interest rates and modest economic growth."

Despite facing macroeconomic headwinds, the board highlighted the robust performance of their product category, concluding that "Despite the macro challenges, the branded fashion footwear sold by Office proved to be a resilient category and traded well throughout the period.

"The group continued to invest in its new store development and remodelling programme throughout the period, adding eight new stores to the portfolio, closing three and renovating, relocating and extending three further stores.

"The investment in stores has been a success as they have exceeded the group's trading expectations and capital expenditure investment criteria."

Regarding its future prospects, Office stated: "Economic growth forecasts for the UK have been raised for 2025, with the retail sector expected to experience tailwinds from improving sentiment, age increases again outpacing inflation, the prospect of further interest rate relief and the sustained low inflation environment.

"Office will continue to leverage its strong relationships with the world's leading footwear brands, its loyal customer base across the Office and Offspring brands and ongoing investment in digital marketing.

"Growth in the year ahead will be driven by a strong online presence and the expansion of the Office store portfolio through new store openings and the remodelling and extension of existing stores in strategic retail locations."

Office was founded in 1981 and was acquired at the end of 2015 by South African clothing retailer Truworths.

The latest accounts for Office come after City AM reported in November 2024 that rival Schuh had created almost 400 jobs in its latest financial year to push its headcount past where it was before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. The turnover of the footwear retailer, headquartered in Scotland, also saw an increase from £354.4m to £380.8m, while its pre-tax profit leapt from £13.4m to £21m.

In May 2024, City AM reported that despite its revenue increasing to nearly £1bn during the year, Clarks suffered a loss of almost £40m in 2023.

The historic company, based in Somerset, reported a pre-tax loss of £39.8m after making a pre-tax profit of £35.9m in the 48 weeks leading up to the end of 2022.