schuh (pronounced /ʃu/, like "shoe") is a Scottish footwear retailer based in Livingston, Scotland. It has 132 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[1] The company is predominantly a branded shoe stockist, selling over 80 brands, including: Converse, Vans, UGG, Nike, Adidas as well as its own schuh label.
The very first schuh store opened on Edinburgh’s North Bridge Arcade in 1981. schuh’s founder Sandy Alexander noticed a lack of fashionable footwear retailer outside London, and he chose Edinburgh to open the very first schuh store.[2]
The business was operating independently until 1986, when it was acquired by Goldbergs. It continued as a semi-autonomous trading division until it regained independence through a management buy-out in 1990 and schuh Ltd. was formed.
In June 2011, schuh was acquired by Genesco footwear retailer, for the sum of £125 million.[3]
Schuh is German for shoe. In external marketing, the company pronounces the word like the English word "shoe". Because of the name, many people assume that schuh is a German company. schuh was to be originally named Lizard, until founder Sandy Alexander's colleague Mike Doherty saw the word ‘schuhe’ written at the top of an industry magazine - they dropped the 'e' and "schuh" was born.[4]
Timeline
1981: opened first store on Edinburgh’s North Bridge Arcade
1983: schuh opens in Glasgow
1984: First English store opens in Newcastle
1990: Business is restructured and a new management team is established
1991: schuh HQ moves to Livingston
1992: schuh opens second store in Edinburgh and Glasgow along with Aberdeen and Newcastle
1994: New stores in Nottingham, Leeds, Hull, Liverpool and Manchester
1997: schuh opens first Ireland store in Dublin
2004: opened first London store at 200 Oxford Street
2008: 2nd London store opens in the Westfield London development
2009: The schuh welly exchange appears at 5 UK festivals and wins a UK Festival award for Best Brand Activation.
2015: schuh opens its first stores outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland in the Centro shopping centre in Oberhausen, Germany.
Company Info
schuh HQ and distribution centre is in Livingston, Scotland with a Press Office and design studio in London. schuh trades profitably from their 100+ high street stores and their website. schuh had a turnover of £233 million in 2012/2013 generating a profit of £25.6 million.[5]
The company has a fully responsive site with a strong emphasis on "mobile first approach".[6]
schuh Kids
2012 saw the launch of schuh kids: the first expansion of the schuh brand since the company was acquired by Genesco in June 2011.
Since launch, the schuh kids store concept has proved extremely popular, receiving industry recognition with a POPAI interiors award in 2013.[7] schuh kids is now available in all stores as well as online.
Products
schuh is predominantly a branded footwear stockist selling popular brands like Converse, Adidas, Vans, Nike and UGG Australia as well as less known and more niche brands, and also the schuh own brand label which are designed by an in-house team of shoe designers. The schuh brand aspires to represent current fashion looks and trends. Besides footwear schuh also stocks shoe care products and accessories.
schuh Magazine
Launched in 1998, the schuh magazine was distributed through its stores with cover stars include Caprice, Katie Price and Gail Porter. The magazine was produced by the head office and combined features on the company and its footwear along with music and other pop culture subjects. The final schuh magazine was released in 2006.
In partnership with West Lothian Council, schuh launched the schuh Design Challenge in 1997. It has run every year since[8] and is aimed at promoting fashion design in schools located near its head office in Livingston.
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