Kurt Geiger launches online shoe outlet

British shoe conglomerate Kurt Geiger is launching an online shoe outlet. The new website will feature discounted items from previous seasons and slow moving stock. To keep its own-name brand separate, the new site is called

Shoeaholics.com.

For the week starting 15 November, Kurt Geiger said that sales in stores open at least a year had risen by 30 per cent, "as fashionistas seek out designer accessories for their feet". The chain said that sales of its highest-heeled shoes – 120mm – had "quadrupled". Kurt Geiger grew underlying profits by 21.2 per cent to £14.7m for the year to 30 January 2010. Graphite Capital bought Kurt Geiger in early 2008, in a deal worth £95m.

The company is further planning to open more than 32 stores in countries including Russia, Turkey and Malaysia over the next five years.

By 2016, the total number of Kurt Geiger stores overseas will double from 19 to 50.