Deichmann wants to double its presence in the United Kingdom

German shoe giant Deichmann has the ambition to become the market leader in family footwear in the United Kingdom. To achieve that, it wants to double its current number of 109 British stores.

“A great deal of potential”

The German group is already Europe’s largest shoe retailer, but has a rather limited market share in the UK despite being active there for twenty years: the chain’s 109 retail outlets achieved sales amounting to 104 million pounds (120 million euros), Retail Gazette reports.

“We are very keen on the UK as one of the biggest markets in Europe”, Deichmann’s leader of UK operations Samuel Deichmann told the British retail website. “We see a lot of potential here, and we want to become the market leader in family footwear as we already are in many Central and Eastern European countries.” The great-grandson of the chain’s founder did not mention any specific targets, but said that he saw no reason why the number of shops could not double in the medium to the long term.

The retailer is also currently setting up a new distribution centre, which will not only supply the stores but also take care of online orders.