Oliver Sweeney to permanently close all stores

British footwear brand Oliver Sweeney has announced it is to permanently close all five of its stores – a decision compounded by the coronavirus crisis - and will concentrate on its online and wholesale business.

The retail arm of the business is believed to have gone into administration and in an online statement to its customers managing director, Tim Cooper, said: “It is no secret that the economics of retail stores have changed for the worse in recent years. The additional uncertainty of COVID-19 has only compounded the problem and made our stores untenable.”

The five stores are located in London’s Mayfair, Covent Garden and Leadenhall Market, as well as in Leeds and Manchester.

Cooper continues: “It is with a great deal of sadness that we have taken the decision to close our five stores in London, Leeds and Manchester permanently. We will continue to sell direct to customers online at oliversweeney.com and through select retail partners. This has been an extremely tough decision.”

Despite the news of another retail casualty during such uncertain times, Cooper maintains that Oliver Sweeney’s “online business remains fully operational and robust."