Amazon UK readies footwear site

The initiative follows the success of the e-tailer’s separate Endless site, originally launched in the US in 2007. The UK equivalent will mirror Amazon’s Japanese offer, Javari, which launched in March and sources said it will also bear the Javari name.

Amazon introduced shoes on its UK site in 2007 and has been building its footwear buying team to facilitate its growth in the category. The e-tailer has thousands of shoes and accessories on its site from brands including Skechers, Ted Baker and Rockport. Amazon’s new offer will also provide customers with free next-day delivery and returns are also likely to be free.

Amazon is thought to be able to attract a wider number of brand names to sell on a standalone,
re-badged site than it would on its main site.

The e-tailer, originally a bookseller, has made big inroads into a wide variety of categories. A Verdict study of which sites people buy clothing and footwear from revealed that 29.4 per cent of respondents bought from Amazon.

Verdict consulting director Neil Saunders said that Amazon’s further push into shoes could pose a threat to weak players in the tough shoe market.

“The shoe retailers have not got as strong an online offer as they could have,” he said. “Amazon is really stealing a march on them. It brings to the market a very recognised and trusted brand.”

Amazon declined to comment.

The e-tailer’s international arm, which includes the UK, generated a 15 per cent sales lift year on year in the first quarter. Sales, excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, soared 28 per cent.