Shoe merchant William Smith tries hard to keep afloat

A last-ditch attempt is being made to sell off stores in the retail chain of Dundee-based shoe merchant William Smith.

As we reported, the 146-year old firm which trades as DE Shoes and Foot Factory is consulting with more than 200 staff over likely redundancies.

Managing director Robert Sinclair said: “Since the news about the difficulties was first announced, footfall in the branches has increased significantly. Many people have said that they do not want to lose the shoe shop that has served generations of the same family.

“Throughout this consultation period the company is continuing to market either the whole business or individual branches as going concerns.”