Former Asda CEO wants to help Office grow its business
02/02/2012
On agreeing to take up the role, Mr Leighton said: “Office has built a great brand, known by anyone looking for fashionable shoes, because it understands the customer’s desires and needs. There is still significant opportunity for further growth and I’m looking forward to helping build the business further.”
Office now has 84 standalone stores in the UK and Ireland as well as 52 concessions in Harvey Nichols, Selfridge’s, House of Fraser and Topshop stores, including in New York and Chicago.
In its home market, the retailer has built up a reputation for stocking good quality fashion shoes at prices only slightly above those of bigger fashion retailers such as Next and New Look. One criticism is that Office appears to make little distinction in its pricing for similar-looking shoes that on closer examination come from widely different sources. For example, three versions of a popular style of women’s court shoe were all on sale for around £50 per pair during 2011, even though one was made in China, another in the EU but from recycled leather, while the third bore the ‘Lavorazione Artigianale’ stamp on the sole indicating that it was hand-crafted in Italy.
Chief executive, Brian McCluskey, said on announcing the new appointment: “The business has been performing strongly all year, with 12 month like-for-like growth in excess of 15%. During 2011 we have opened eight stores and eight concessions and all have traded significantly ahead of expectations. This is a very creditable performance, particularly in the current environment and is testament to the incredible team of people we have and the fantastic brands and suppliers we work with.”
He said that i the course of 2012, the company will open at least six new stores and continue to invest heavily in its web business.
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