A new industry report has been released which examines the financial performance of leading companies operating in the footwear industry in the UK. The Business Ratio Report – The Footwear Industry, published by the Prospect Shop, puts Nike at the head of the top ten most profitable footwear companies by pre-tax profit margin for 1999/2000, with sales of £23.5 million for the year, and a pre-tax profit margin of 30 per cent. Pentland Brands UK is second with a pre-tax profit margin of 20.1 per cent, followed by Foot Shop (17.6 %), Ellesse UK (17.4%), Russell & Bromley (16.2%), Airborne Footwear (14.4%), Twinmar (12.6%), The Absolute Leather Co (12%), Lambert Howarth & Sons (10.9%), and Peter Black Footwear & Acc. (10.2%). In terms of 1999/2000 sales turnover, the top ten features C&J Clark International in first position with sales of £621.3 million, followed by Stylo Barratt Shoes at £196.5 million, Airwair at £191.8 million, and R.Griggs & Co at £191.5 million.

The report analyses and compares the financial performance of 128 leading UK footwear sector companies. Covering the last three full available accounting years (from 1997 onwards), the report presents individual company performance, sub-sector performance (distributors and manufacturers), and performance averages for the sector as a whole. During the three year period under review, the average company examined saw total sales increase by 10.6 per cent, whilst total pre-tax profits rose by a marginal 1.1 per cent. The average pre-tax profit margin figure for the industry fell slightly from 5.4 per cent in 1997/1998 to 5.1 per cent in 1999/2000. Total debt to net worth was shown to have gone from 65.6 per cent in 1997/98 and 74.3 per cent in the final year.