Shoe Zone blames tax rises in budget for decision to close some stores

Retailer hit by ‘challenging trading conditions’ and says wage and NIC changes made a number of shops ‘unviable’

The low-cost footwear retailer Shoe Zone has blamed extra costs resulting from changes to wages and national insurance contributions (NICs) in October’s budget and weakening consumer confidence for its decision to close stores.

Shoe Zone said it had experienced “very challenging trading conditions” between the start of October and the middle of December because of lower consumer confidence and unseasonal weather, which had led to falling sales and profit.