William Smith finds buyer for five footwear stores

A buyer has been found for five footwear stores owned by troubled Dundee shoe firm William Smith.

The move by independent retailer Begg Shoes & Bags safeguards four DE Shoes and one Footwear Factory outlet in the north of Scotland.

The takeover secures the jobs of around a quarter of the 200-strong Smith workforce and significantly increases the size of Begg’s estate from three trading outlets one of which is in Perth to eight.

“DE Shoes in Elgin, Inverurie, Kirkwall and Lerwick, and Foot Factory in Peterhead have been successfully transferred to Begg Shoes & Bags Ltd,” Smith’s managing director Robert Sinclair said.

“The five transferred stores will continue to trade under the DE Shoes/Foot Factory name for the foreseeable future, but customers should understand that they are now owned by a different company so there may be some changes in due course.”

The fate of the other workers in the Smith group is likely to become clear after a 90-day consultation period ending on April 19.

Mr Sinclair said: “I would like to stress that we are continuing to consult with interested parties looking to take on any of the remaining stores as going concerns.”