Schuh’s chief executive confident the footwear chain won’t be sold out

Colin Temple, chief executive at the Edinburgh-based footwear chain, has showed his confidence in not being sold any time soon, regardless the Schuh’s parent company’s activist investor plans.

Temple said in an interview with the Press Association he was confident in the footwear chain’s performance and that the retailer will continue to prosper under the ownership of Genesco, which bought the firm for 100 million pounds in 2011. “I’m not sat here and nervous that we will be put up for sale in the foreseeable future,” he said.

“I am intrigued about what will happen with the activist investor but I’m confident that it makes sense to be part of the organisation.”

Genesco’s activist investor advocates for Schuh’s sales

Activist investor Legion Partners wrote to Genesco’s management earlier in March, saying that the UK footwear chain was among the businesses that stood to improve under “separate ownership”. The investment firm added that it was “unacceptable” for Genesco to continue operating with a “disparate set of assets with such a poor record of value creation”.

The trigger to this letter was Genesco’s recent warning about the performance of its shoes chain, as the investment group warned late last year that Brexit “could impact consumer demand, currency rates and supply chain” adding that there could be “no assurance” that Schuh’s performance would not be “adversely affected” by economic conditions.

To this regard, Schuh’s CEO said: “There is value in our business product and processes and that’s not going to change.”

Giving context about the situation in the UK and other European markets where the footwear retailer operates - Schuh has 105 stores across the UK and is also present in Ireland and Germany, said Schuh has been competing not only with fellow footwear retailers but restaurants and entertainment venues as consumers tighten up their spending on non-essential items amid rising inflation sparked by the collapse of the pound.