A report into the state of the UK footwear industry has found that despite steady growth in sales, companies have been experiencing an increasing fall in profits. The "Business Ratio Report", produced by The Prospect Shop, looked at the period between 1998/99 and 2001/02 and compared the performance of 116 leading companies.

The average company surveyed saw a compound sales growth figure of 3%. However, the compound profit growth figure over the three years was minus 21%, made up of a contraction of 8% in the first half of the period speeding up to a worrying 32% in the second half.