Hotter Shoes to expand beyond footwear following AIM float

British footwear retailer Hotter Shoes will expand its offering beyond footwear to include apparel and wellness brands following its float later this year, its parent company has announced.

Electra said it expects its first products beyond footwear to be sold from H1 2022, and also revealed it would be changing its name to Unbound Group following its AIM float “late this calendar year”.

Meanwhile, the company’s hospitality brands will be demerged to a new parent company called Hostmore.

The group also revealed Wednesday that sales at Hotter Shoes increased 25 percent in the first six months of its financial year compared to a year earlier.

In the six months to January, the company’s UK direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales grew 39 percent. The company said its DTC channels now reach 29 percent of the female population in the UK over the age of 55.

The company’s overall gross margin came in at 63 percent, up from 53 percent a year earlier. Fixed costs in the period fell by 34 percent.

Hotter names new CFO

As part of the transition to Unbound, Hotter has appointed Dan Lampard as its new chief financial officer (CFO), effective August 30. Lampard has worked across a number of different financial and commercial roles, most recently as CFO of Glanbia Performance Nutritions.

“We are delighted with the progress we are making and welcome Dan to our team at this important time for the business,” said Hotter Shoes CEO Ian Watson in a statement.

“His track record of success in online, DTC retail businesses will help drive our transformation as we work towards our listing on AIM and focus on delivering growth across our platform.”