Hotter unveils ambitious three year plan

Lancashire-based Hotter Shoes chief executive Sara Prowse has unveiled details of a three year plan to double the size of the business.

And she added: “We’ve fixed some stuff that was broken and now comes the good stuff.”

A new leadership team has also been put in place over the past 12 months to deliver the plan.

While not putting a cash figure on it, she describes the investment that is planned over the next 12 months as “significant”. And she reveals that it will include a major IT transformation programme.

She told Lancashire Business View: “It is growth through product, growth through diversification and new markets and growth within our existing markets.”

It means that the Skelmersdale operation will turn out 2.2 million pairs of shoes every year – that’s one pair every 20 seconds.

Growing exports markets also figures highly in the Hotter masterplan. There has already been investment in the US, which accounts for around 12 per cent of Hotter’s sales mix and which has grown by 45 per cent year on year.

She and her team are also looking to quadruple the performance of Hotter’s wholesale division, which currently accounts for a small five per cent of the company’s total mix. She added: “Being a UK manufacturer gives us a competitive advantage, which historically the business has not taken advantage of. It is a massive part of our strategy as we go forward. Our lead time is six weeks, which is phenomenal for a footwear brand.”