Kurt Geiger will add a London flagship store early next year to its growing empire of
shops around the world following a jump in sales boosted by its Bond & Britton heels
and Saffiano handbags.
The British luxury brand,whose shoes are worn by stars including Beyonce and Julia
Roberts,reported a 13% increase in like-for-like sales for the third quarter,bucking a
tough retail climate.Many clothes retailers have blamed the weather for sluggish sales
,including Next,one of Britain's most successful retailers.
Kurt Geiger,for its part,is expecting double digit sales growth for 2014 and " strong"
underlying profits.
Alongside its Bond & Britton high heel court shoes ,priced at 250 to 295 a pair,casual
shoes such as slip-ons and flats are proving increasingly popular among customers .
The firm has branched out into handbags and other accessories such as jewellery ,
and phone and table cases.
It credited the launch of the Saffiano leather range with a 50% rise in handbag sales so
far this year -especially after British model and actor Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was
seen carrying the red Saffiano bowling bag in Hollywood.
American actors Jon Hamm and Channing Tatum have been spotted wearing Kurt
Geiger's men's collection.
The shoe retailer was bought out by its chief executive ,Neil Clifford,and other manager
in April with the backing of US private equity house Sycamore Partners,to which it had
been sold as part of the Jones Group in a $1.2 bn deal.
Clifford talked of a " tremendous year " for Kurt Geiger." Following our management
buyout,the company's new strategic direction has facilitated a renewed focus on growth
and international expansion." He said the company was trying to appeal to everyone ,
from Hollywood stars to fashion-aware shoppers.Its Shoeaholics website sells men's
boots from 29 and court and flat shoes from 19.
Like-for-like sales at the retailer are up 13% in the first seven months of this year,taking
gross turnover to 210 m,compared with 230m for the whole of last year A fifth of sales
are now made via the internet.folowing30% online growth.
Kurt Geiger has opened 28 stores this year ,including 20 in the UK and a flagship store
in Milan ,while franchise partners opened flagship stores in Thailand ,Hong KOng ,China
and Singapore.It now has 59 independent shops worldwide and 198 department store
concessions.
In the UK , a store in Bicester Village shopping centre is due to open in December ,followed
by a London flagship in the Oxford Street area early next year.It also runs multi-branded
shoe departments in Selfridges and Liberty and opened Harrods Shoe Heaven in August ,
which stocks more than 50 brands including Manolo Blahnik,Saint Laurent and Valentino.
Kurt Geiger has made a three-year commitment to Cordwainers' College at the London
College of Fashion ,which has trained shoemakers and leather workers since 1887 and
produced designers such as Jimmy Choo and Charlotte Olympia.
