Out-of-town family footwear retailer Brantano has hired former Deichmann UK managing director David Short as managing director.

Short joins Brantano in June. He stepped down from Deichmann UK early last year and was not replaced. He joined the German shoe giant after his company, Shoe Emporium, was bought by the business in 2000. Deichmann launched as an out-of-town format in the UK, but changed strategy in 2002 to focus on city centre locations.

Brantano, which was bought by Dutch company Macintosh Retail in January, delivered sales of 312 million (£250.4 million) in the year to January 1, up from 295.2 million (£236.9 million) in 2006.

Brantano performed strongly in the first three quarters of last year, but fell short of expectations in the fourth quarter. In a statement, Macintosh said that this year it would focus on integrating Brantano, along with tighter cost control. Macintosh said it would also concentrate on joint buying opportunities between Brantano and its Dutch and Belgian shoe retailers Hoogenbosch and Scapino.

Retail consultant Richard Hyman said the footwear sector is under huge pressure and consumer demand is flat. “More consumers want to buy shoes in the same place as their clothing and it is getting more difficult to persuade them to go to a specialist store if there is no special outstanding difference. I wonder whether Brantano has sufficient stand out and being different from the guy next door is becoming increasingly vital,” he said.

The retailer expects to open about 10 stores this year and to close a number of stores in the UK that do not meet profit targets.

Brantano has about 285 shops in the UK, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as 13 franchise stores in the Middle East. It focuses on value, with children’s shoes starting at£10. It also carries brands including Adidas, Nike, Hush Puppies, Kickers and Clarks.

Topics