York’s Pavers embarks on expansion programme despite failed Jones The Bootmaker bid

Pavers, the York-based footwear retailer headquartered in York, is embarking on a expansion programme despite its failed bid for the ailing Jones The Bootmaker.

Although the bid was unsuccessful, Pavers is still aiming to strengthen its position the in the competitive footwear sector both in the UK and internationally.

Managing director Stuart Paver has stated that he was not prepared to pay “over the odds” for a loss-making company.

Mr Paver said: “Ultimately, we felt our bid of over £9m was a fair one, but it fell just short. That’s business. There was a certain synergy between ourselves and Jones, and Jones’ retail outlets in the high streets of many UK towns and cities would have suited us perfectly.

“We are now determined to increase our presence and portfolio in the high street, especially in the south of England, and this will be one of our main objectives in the next couple of years.

“Taken in conjunction with the opening of a new store at Singapore Airport and major expansion plans at our headquarters at Northminster Business Park, the future of Pavers looks extremely bright.”

The footwear retailer has been strengthened by the appointment of Jason Paver, grandson of founder Catherine Paver, as director of sales. Jason joined Pavers last year, having previously been an executive director with Goldman Sachs in London and New York.

He commented: “These are exciting times to be joining Pavers. We are planning to create a significant number of new jobs in York as we double the size of our headquarters. We currently employ almost 1,500 staff in the UK and Ireland, with another 800 overseas.

“The £4m, 50,000 sq ft extension to our offices and warehouse in York will cater primarily for our extra storage requirements, which are expected to double over the next five years. We currently have 120 shops in Britain and Ireland and the extension gives us room to continue to grow.

“We are continuing to expand internationally, with a number of new stores opening in the Middle East and Asia later this year. There are a tremendous number of exciting opportunities available at the moment.”

Jason added: “We are especially keen to increase our presence in town and city centres in the south of England. Whilst we are already a true multi-channel retailer, with sizable online and catalogue businesses, as well as our own TV channel –Sky 669-, our stores are primarily in mills, retail parks and designer outlets, and we want to redress the balance.

“We believe a heightened profile on the UK’s high streets is both timely, given the number of voids on the high street, and desirable. We are also looking to increase our sales online, and via catalogue and TV, which we regard as vital parts of our retail operation going forward,” added Mr Paver.

The company, which had annual sales of more than £105m in 2016, has overseas operations in India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

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