Shoe-shop.com

It's Shoe-shop.com, now Europe's largest shoe store, offering more footwear than any other online or offline retailer from one location - and it's based in York.

Now its creator, Stuart Paver - who, incidentally, was a former finalist in the Evening Press Business Personality of the Year - is hoping to lace up the ecommerce Business of the Year title in the 2004 Business Awards.

Stuart created Shoe-shop after experimenting with an information directory for the show industry called shoewworld.com.

He quickly realised that although the internet was supposed to offer a level playing field for small business to compete with big corporations, there would eventually be just two or three online category "killers" who would survive alongside major retailers who would eventually dominate online sales.

The problem was the risk of unsold stock and heavy financial losses.

Stuart reasoned: What about creating a seamless online footwear department store offering not only its own products, but also stock from major manufacturers and other retailers such as Clarks, Schuh, Rockport, Ecco, Loake and his own family's chain of Pavers stores?

So he launched Shoe-shop just as the internet bubble burst in spring 2000, when internet retailer Boo went into liquidation.

Yet Shoe-shop, based at Northminster Park, Poppleton, and with warehouses throughout the country, consistently grew sales and reduced losses to register first profits last October. Sales so far this year indicate its turnover will be more than £2 million - up 30 per cent.

To put that in perspective, there are fewer than 50 other footwear companies in the UK which take more than £2 million on the high street or by mail order.

But to become a dominant player on the continent he needs a strong partner. "We are talking with a major European retailer with more than 6,000 stores in Europe and North America to launch a European version and this is being actively pursued at the minute."

Updated: 10:08 Thursday, July 08, 2004