Schuh

Schuh
Private
Industry Retail
Founded 1981
Headquarters Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland
Key people
 Colin Temple, Mark Crutchley, David Spencer, Kenneth Ball
Products Footwear
Number of employees
 4000+
Parent Genesco
Website schuh.co.uk
For other uses, see Schuh (disambiguation).

schuh (pronounced /ʃu/, like "shoe") is a footwear retailer from the UK, with 118 stores in the UK and Ireland. schuh’s customers are mostly in their late teens or early twenties and the company is predominantly a branded shoe stockist, selling over 80 brands, including: Converse, Vans, UGG, Nike, Adidas as well as its own schuh label. The company, based in Livingston, West Lothian in Scotland operates throughout the British Isles, Republic of Ireland and Germany. Schuh also delivers internationally.

History

A branch of Schuh on Briggate in Leeds.

The very first schuh store opened on Edinburgh’s North Bridge Arcade in 1981. schuh’s founder Sandy Alexander noticed a lack of fashionable footwear retailer outside London, and he chose Edinburgh to open the very first schuh store. schuh describe their concept as follows: "To provide aspirational but accessible fashion footwear, sold in a unique and exciting retail environment at prices which represent value for money and sold by friendly and knowledgeable staff.[1]" The business was operating independently until 1986, when it was acquired by a public company. It continued as a semi-autonomous trading division until it regained independence through a management buy-out in 1990 and schuh Ltd was formed.

In June 2011 schuh was acquired by Genesco Inc. a Nashville, Tennessee footwear retailer, for the sum of £125 million.[2] Genesco Inc. sells footwear, headwear, sports apparel and accessories in more than 2,450 retail stores throughout the U.S, principally under the fascias Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, Lids and Lids Locker Room, Dockers, Johnston & Murphy, and Underground Station. Genesco Inc. had a turnover of $2.6 billion in 2012/2013.

Name

Schuh is German for shoe. In external marketing, the company pronounces the word like the English word "shoe". Because of the name, many people assume that schuh is a German company. schuh was to be originally named Lizard, until founder Sandy Alexander's colleague Mike Doherty saw the word ‘schuhe’ written at the top of an industry magazine - they dropped the 'e' and "schuh" was born.

History in Brief

Company Info

schuh HQ and distribution centre is in Livingston, Scotland with a Press Office and design studio in London. schuh trades profitably from their 100+ high street stores and their website. schuh had a turnover of £233 million in 2012/2013 generating a profit of £25.6 million.[3]

schuh has grown organically over the last 3 decades and the partnership with Genesco has helped to accelerate growth, as demonstrated in 2012 and 2013 with the continued expansion of schuh and the launch of schuh kids taking the number of schuh stores to over 100 in 2014.

schuh Stores

Since schuh opened its first ever store in Edinburgh, North Bridge Arcade back in 1981,[4] the company now has over 100 stores across the UK and Ireland, including the standalone kids store.

European Expansion

In 2015 schuh opened its first store outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland in the Centro shopping centre in Oberhausen, Germany. This was quickly followed with a second German store in Ruhr Park. A third store is planned to open in Essen in 2016.


Online

The original schuh website (schuhstore.co.uk) was launched in 1998 as an online version of the schuh magazine but it took another four years before schuh started trading online. Back then, there were doubts whether you can sell shoes on the internet. But today, the site is a major contributor to the company's success with a dedicated ecommerce team overseeing the online activities.

schuh was among the first retailers to open a store on eBay as a way of clearing sale stock. It is now one of the top 100 eBay stores in the world. This method of selling through sale stock ensures that stores do not get overwhelmed with sale stock and maximises stock clearance. Along with schuh.co.uk, schuh.ie, schuh.eu and eBay, schuh also sells through stores on Amazon and vivaladiva, as well as its sister company, Branch309, that sells branded shoes at a discounted price.

The company has also taken a major step forward with their website by launching a fully responsive site with a strong emphasis on "mobile first approach" for their ever-growing number of mobile users.[5]

schuh Kids

2012 saw the launch of schuh kids: the first expansion of the schuh brand since the company was acquired by Genesco in June 2011.

Initially schuh kids was trialled in 20 stores, each with a specially designed schuh kids tower. The company then took the decision to open standalone stores in Glasgow, Lakeside and Liverpool, before expanding further. The original three were attached to a schuh shop intended to create a schuh ‘superstore’ however, the kids element runs as a different fascia with its own entrance, staff, who are specially trained to measure kids' feet, and management team.

Since launch, the schuh kids store concept has proved extremely popular, receiving industry recognition with a POPAI interiors award in 2013.[6] schuh kids is now available in all stores as well as online.

Products

schuh is predominantly a branded footwear stockist selling popular brands like Converse, adidas, Vans, Nike and UGG Australia as well as less known and more niche brands, and also the schuh own brand label which are designed by an in-house team of shoe designers. The schuh brand aspires to represent current fashion looks and trends. Besides footwear schuh also stocks shoe care products and accessories.

schuh currently stock over 80 brands across the shoes, accessories and shoe-care range.

schuh Magazine

Launched in 1998, the schuh magazine was distributed through its stores with cover stars include Caprice, Katie Price and Gail Porter. The magazine was produced by the head office and combined features on the company and its footwear along with music and other pop culture subjects. The final schuh magazine was released in 2006.

schuh Welly Exchange

In 2009 schuh launched the schuh Welly Exchange at Scotland’s RockNess Festival. The schuh Welly Exchange swaps festival goers old shoes for wellington boots. The shoes are recycled by the Newlife Foundation. The schuh Welly Exchange has appeared at Bestival, Oxegen, Camp Bestival, Global Gathering, Creamfields, Summer Sundae and RockNess.

schuh Design Challenge

In partnership with West Lothian council, schuh launched the schuh Design Challenge in 1997. It has run every year since[7] and is aimed at promoting fashion design in schools located near its head office in Livingston.

Recent awards

References

  1. 1 2 "Winners Interview: Retailer of the Year Awards 2013". Scottish Fashion Awards. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Blackden, Richard (24 June 2011). "Schuh sales staff to share £37.3m windfall after US takeover". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Jeff, Dominic (12 June 2013). "Schuh delivers record profts of £25.6m". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  4. ↑ White, Claire (26 June 2013). "A step in a new direction as Schuh close oldest Edinburgh store". STV News. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Charlton, Graham (15 September 2014). "Schuh's adoption of responsive and the importance of a 'mobile first' approach". econsultancy. econsultancy. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Flagship & Store Category Award". POPAI. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Emma wins Schuh Design Challenge". West Lothian Council. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
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