Belgian shoe store chain Schoenen Torfs has seen its turnover grow 7.6 % in 2017, but the company had to admit to a 9 % decrease in net profit. CEO Wouter Torfs aims for further growth online, in Wallonia and through cooperation with sneaker chain The Athlete’s Foot.
One in three offline purchases made in store
Last year’s turnover went up 7.6 % to 142.8 million euro, but net profit went down 9 % to 4.3 million, writes Belgian business paper De Tijd. Growth mainly came through online sales (30 % growth, compared to offline’s 4 %). The web shop now earns 15 % of all sales at Torfs, often thanks to the integration of offline and online: a whopping one third of all online sales actually happens in Torfs stores, when customers buy items online if the store does not have the right colour or size in stock.
2018 however started less well for the chain, whose offline sales went down 4 % in the first six months. As online sales went up 20 % however, the offline slump was completely compensated. In order to improve sales, Torfs wants to focus on the French-speaking part of Belgium, where it opened its first store this spring and aims to get to fifteen stores. Another area of projected growth is the franchise agreement with The Athlete’s Foot, which should give Torfs easier access to exclusive collections by brands as Adidas and Nike.
