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Footasylum opens first store under new ownership and unveils expansion plans

Lauretta Roberts
05 December 2022

Footasylum has opened its first new store under its new ownership – located in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire – and says it has a "strong pipeline" of new openings planned for 2023.

The Rochdale-headquartered footwear and streetwear retailer was acquired by private equity firm Aurelius Group in August of this year for £37.5 million after the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) ordered previous owner JD Sports to sell it amid competition concerns. JD had purchased the chain in 2019 for £90m.

Expansion had been on ice while the CMA conducted its inquiry and this latest 6,000 sq ft store in the Brookfield Shopping Park marks the first opening for the retailer since April 2021, taking its store estate to 60. The company added that it had a number further openings planned for 2023 and that it was "currently seeing strong demand both in its stores and online in the build up to Christmas".

Asylum

The new store in the Brookfield Shopping Park

It recently announced annual revenue growth of 21% to £281m for the year ended 29 January 2022 (up from £232m in the prior year), with gross profit up 26% to £132.6m (up from £105.3m in the prior year). Physical stores accounted for 51% of the company’s revenue, with online sales representing 46% and wholesale accounting for 3%.

Commenting on the news, Barry Bown, Executive Chairman and CEO of Footasylum, said: “We’re delighted to be opening our 60th store at a fantastic site in Cheshunt near the A10 corridor into London. This is our first new opening since April 2021, and should be taken as a clear sign of how strongly the business is trading due to the ongoing demand for our brands. As we look ahead to 2023, we have exciting plans for further expansion and are confident that we can continue to grow at pace despite the current macroeconomic uncertainty.”

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