Hotter Shoes strengthens UK production as it targets further growth

Hotter Shoes is bringing production back from India and increasing the number of shoes it makes in British each year to restore its claim as “Britain’s biggest shoemaker”.

WoolOvers, which acquired the footwear brand from administrators last year, has reversed a planned “phasing out” of manufacturing at its factory in Skelmersdale, Lancashire.

It aims to raise domestic production to three quarters of the shoes, up from 25%, and is also hiring 15 people to strengthen the brand’s existing team of 120, according to The Times.

Mike Lester, CEO of WoolOvers, said: “We quickly understood that what the customer bought into was the UK-manufactured, the comfort fit, and the products they knew and loved, and not the products that were imported from India that were a bit more fashion-forward, but didn’t come in the range of fits and widths that were going to work with an older person’s feet.”

Lester noted that production in Britain is only slightly more expensive than sourcing from India, adding: “If we can put more volume through the factory then that increases the profit margin. It is a win-win for us.”

Hotter Shoes was acquired in a £6.7 million deal last year after previous owners Unbound called in administrators for the footwear brand.

The news comes after the business, which trades from 30 sites in the UK, reported sales are back up to £50 million, up from £45 million, in the first year since the acquisition.

“In the world of retail, which can be a fairly miserable place to be, it is all fairly positive,” Lester said.

“We are not doing anything crazy, like selling a new protein shake. We are just doing simple retailing to an amazing customer demographic with some good brands.”