Hotter Shoes parent Unbound Group enters AIM market

Electra Private Equity Group, the parent company of footwear retailer Hotter, has today rebranded as Unbound Group PLC and entered the London Stock Exchange's AIM market.

Unbound Group confirmed its intentions last month, with the company hoping the rebrand will help it become an "online multi-brand retail platform supporting the lifestyles of the 55+ demographic".

First reported by TheIndustry.fashion last year, shareholders later approved the relisting and rename at a general meeting on 30 December 2021.

The group also reported directorate changes, with Unbound being led by Hotter Shoes CEO Ian Watson, who will be supported by new Chief Financial Officer Daniel Lampard.

Unbound's expanded offering beyond footwear is expected to feature apparel, wellness and lifestyle products and services, with third-party complementary brands featuring alongside new Unbound brands, as well as Hotter.

Whilst continuing to develop Hotter's footwear offering for all consumers in its targeted age demographic, Unbound also intends to leverage the customer database and scalable digital infrastructure of Hotter to support sales on the new Unbound platform of its own and third-party brands and products with related customer benefits to the same target demographic.

Ian Watson, Chief Executive Officer of Unbound Group, commented: "We are delighted to begin trading on AIM and I would like to thank the members of our team who have played a part in reaching today's milestone. I look forward to building on our work to date and to creating long-term value for our stakeholders as a listed company.

Our focus now, as well as continuing the development of Hotter Shoes, is on developing our Unbound Group partnership strategy, selling selected products in addition to Hotter Shoes footwear on the Unbound Group website, which is progressing well. Confirmation of partners in the initially targeted specialist footwear and apparel segments will be made in due course, with first revenues expected in the second quarter of 2022."