Shoe seller Kurt Geiger unveils earnings rise

The UK’s largest luxury shoe seller was on the front foot today after posting a 13% rise in earnings.

Kurt Geiger, which sells shoes for an average of £200 (€298) a pair, saw underlying earnings of £8.1m (€12m) for the 53 weeks to February 3 after better-than-expected online sales and a strong performance from concession partners, including Harrods and Selfridges.

The company is the largest wholesaler of Gucci and Prada in Europe and its luxury ranges include Stemar crocodile skin shoes, which sell for £5,000 (€7,400) a pair.

Kurt Geiger said the current financial year had started well, with total sales up 8% between February 3 and July 7 and “positive” like-for-like sales growth in the period.

The group, which is owned by Barclays Private Equity, also sells its own-brand KG and Carvela shoes as well as other well-known luxury footwear names including Jimmy Choo, Paul Smith and Versace.

Kurtgeiger.com, the company’s website, traded at double the forecast expectations for the year and will be relaunched next month.