Shoe Zone plunged this morning (2 July) as the business warned high shipping costs would hit its profits this year.
The retailer said it had “continued to experience cost pressures associated with container prices due to a reduction in the supply of shipping vessels”.
It noted that paired with the continuation of a reroute away from the Suez Canal amid the ongoing attacks in the Red Sea, container prices have “risen significantly over the last six months”.
As a result, Shoe Zone said it expects an adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to 2 October to be not less than £10m.
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The announcement resulted in shares in Shoe Zone falling near 19% from 152p to 124p when the markets opened.
The retailer warned it also experienced weaker than expected spring/summer sales from April to June due to the unseasonal weather conditions..
Last week, the footwear specialist said it had been hit by a cyber attack resulting in “unauthorised access to certain online systems and data”.
Shoe Zone said that on becoming aware of the incident, it “enacted its established IT security protocols and took immediate steps to stop the unauthorised access to its systems and data”. It said it did not expect any financial material impact.
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