schuh ( ) is a footwear retailer based in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC125327 As of August 2026, schuh was operating with 109 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is predominantly a branded shoe stockist, selling over 80 brands, including: Converse, Vans, UGG, Nike, Adidas as well as its own schuh label.
History
Founding years (1981–1986) The very first schuh store opened in Edinburgh at 9 North Bridge Arcade on Monday 02 November 1981 (a later unit would open at 32 North Bridge itself from 1983 - 2013).
schuh's founder Sandy Alexander noticed a lack of fashionable footwear retailer outside London, and he chose Edinburgh to open the very first schuh store.
During this time schuh opened stores in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Aberdeen.
Goldberg years (1987–1990) schuh as a business operated independently until 1987, when the company and the four operating branches were acquired by Goldberg (also known as 'A. Goldberg & Sons', or 'Goldbergs').
It continued as a semi-autonomous trading division and was operated on a concession basis within branches of the Goldberg brands Wrygges and Wrygges Man, News and 'ing' and within Goldberg department stores across Scotland and in Blackpool, England. schuh also opened a number of standalone stores, reaching a total of 52 locations over the three years under the new parent company.
When Goldberg went into administration in 1990, the company regained full independence through a management buy-out and schuh Ltd. was formed.
schuh: Clothing for Feet - Expansion Years (1990-2011) schuh embarked on two decades of controlled expansion. By the end of the 1990s there were over 20 stores.
Concession deals were struck with d2 Jeans, Republic and Tempest (Menarys) as well a short lived franchise operation in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In 2011, schuh celebrated a landmark 30th anniversary with the tagline '30 Years of Self Expression'. This featured a year-long series of events in cities and stores across the UK and Ireland and included collaborations with several footwear brands.
Genesco Years (2011–present) In June 2011, schuh was acquired by Genesco footwear retailer, for the sum of £125 million.
schuh | kids was created in 2012 and saw small areas in company branches selling children's footwear. Several standalone schuh | kids locations opened across the UK.
Over 2015 and 2016, schuh opened three stores in Germany. These closed in the years following the decision of the UK to leave the European Union.
As of August 2026, schuh was operating 109 branches in the UK and Ireland consisting of 92 standalone locations and 17 schuh | kids stores.
Company name schuh is German for shoe. In external marketing, the company pronounces the word like the English word "shoe". Due to the name, many people assume that schuh is a German company. schuh was to be originally named Lizard, until founder Sandy Alexander's colleague Mike Doherty saw the word ‘schuhe’ written at the top of an industry magazine - they dropped the 'e' and "schuh" was born.
Company information schuh HQ and distribution centre is in Livingston, Scotland with a Press Office and design studio in London. There are additional distribution centres and warehouses in England and Ireland.
schuh trades profitably from their 100+ high street stores and their website. schuh had a turnover of £233 million in 2012/2013 generating a profit of £25.6 million.
The company has a website with an emphasis on "mobile first approach".
schuh | kids 2012 saw the launch of : the first expansion of the schuh brand since the company was acquired by Genesco in June 2011. Previously schuh had sold a limited range of junior sized footwear in branches and online.
Since launch, the store concept has proved extremely popular, receiving industry recognition with a POPAI interiors award in 2013. schuh | kids is now available in all stores as well as online.
Products schuh is predominantly a branded footwear stockist selling popular brands like Converse, Adidas, Vans, Nike and UGG Australia as well as less known and more niche brands, and also the schuh own brand label which are designed by an in-house team of shoe designers. The schuh brand aspires to represent current fashion looks and trends. Besides footwear schuh also stocks shoe care products and accessories including bags, hats and sunglasses.
Initiatives
the schuh trust Founded in 2011, with proceeds from when schuh was brought into the Genesco family, the schuh trust is used to offer charitable donations and grants to deserving cases, many of which are suggested and supported by the people who work for schuh.
In 2020, the schuh trust donated £3 million to the relief effort during the Covid-19 pandemic.
the schuh Club in 2022, schuh launched 'the schuh Club' offering members the opportunity to earn points as they shop. Customers can sign up online and instore.
Recycling partnerships schuh offers two in branch schemes for recycling shoes. The Sell Your Soles and Too Big For Your Boots initiatives offer customers a chance to trade in unwanted, worn footwear for a £5 voucher.
Vintage Threads In 2024, schuh partnered with Vintage Threads, a London-based reworking clothing brand, to transform pre-loved footwear into wearable fashion items. The collection toured some of the larger branches of schuh including London's Oxford Circus and Manchester's Market Street stores.
do more GOOD (previously known as the 'Purpose Pillars') schuh launched the Purpose Pillars in 2019. These are employee-led, volunteer groups that give different ideas and perspectives from a range of backgrounds across three main areas: Mental Wellness, Sustainability and Foster Diverse Talent (which includes racial, disability and LGBT+ equality).
In January 2026, the Purpose Pillars were repackaged as 'do more GOOD'. The new mission focuses on Wellbeing + Connection, Culture + Community and Environment.
Single and mixed size shoe schemes In 2024 schuh launched initiatives in branch and online via the Customer Experience systems to offer single shoe and mixed sizes to customers. Customers with limb differences or disabilities are able to get up to 50% off purchases in these cases.
schuh ex display (formerly imperfects and branch309) Formerly known as branch309 and schuh imperfects, the ex-display section of the schuh website lets customers browse items that have been removed from branches due to imperfections on the products. These items are sold at a cheaper price that normal.
schuh Welly Exchange In 2009 schuh launched the schuh Welly Exchange at Scotland's RockNess Festival. The schuh Welly Exchange swaps festival goers old shoes for Wellington boots. The shoes were recycled by the Newlife Foundation. The schuh Welly Exchange appeared at Bestival, Oxegen, Camp Bestival, Global Gathering, Creamfields, Summer Sundae and RockNess.
In 2009 schuh also won the Best Brand Activation Award for the welly exchange at the UK festival awards.
schuh design challenge In partnership with West Lothian Council, schuh launched the schuh Design Challenge in 1997. It has run every year since and is aimed at promoting fashion design in schools located near its head office in Livingston.
schuh magazine Launched in 1998, the schuh magazine was distributed through its stores with cover stars include Caprice, Katie Price and Gail Porter. The magazine was produced by a team at head office and combined features on the company and its footwear along with music and other pop culture subjects. The final schuh magazine was released in 2006.
Concessions, franchises and authorised stockists
Concession operations schuh previously operated concession partnerships with a number of high street retailers.
In 1987, when schuh was bought over by the Glasgow based chain Goldberg, several concession branches of schuh operated in these department stores as well as within Goldberg sub-brands News, 'ing', Wrygges and Wrygges Man.
In the 1990s schuh operated concessions within FTC: Fosters Trading Company (formerly Foster Brothers) for a brief time. This was meant to continue as FTC changed to 'The Lounge', however with the demise of the parent company, this concession ended in 1998.
In 2001, schuh opened concessions within the newly created d2 Jeans fashion chain - created from the merger of Jeans For Sale (JFS), Jeanster and FTC: Fosters Trading Company (formerly Foster Brothers).
In 2004, schuh operated staffed concessions selling women's footwear in the newly launched Tempest stores across Ulster - a fashion led retail chain owned by parent company Menarys.
From 2004 until 2013, schuh operated in 30+ Republic clothing stores with staffed concessions. These were closed and replaced throughout 2013 and 2014 when Republic fell into administration.
Franchise branch schuh operated a franchise branch in the Sahara Centre, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 2003 to 2004.
Authorised stockists schuh is sold via Hirestreet on a rental basis. Hirestreet allows customers to rent footwear on demand or on a rotational basis.
Timeline
1981: opened first store in Edinburgh's North Bridge Arcade. 1982: concession opened in Aberdeen above the city's 'Grand Canyon Clothing Company' on Union Street. 1983: schuh opened in Glasgow on Gordon Street and a second unit opened on North Bridge itself in Edinburgh. 1984: the first English store opened in Newcastle on Grainger Street and a third store opened in Edinburgh on Rose Street. 1985: the store in Glasgow was relocated to Union Street. 1986: a brief branch opened in Queen Street in Glasgow and the Newcastle store relocated to Eldon Square. 1987: only four stores remained (North Bridge and Rose Street in Edinburgh, Eldon Square in Newcastle and Glasgow Union Street) and schuh was taken into the Goldberg family of business. New schuh stand alone stores opened in Aberdeen at the Trinity Centre, East Kilbride in the Princes Mall and Hamilton on Regent Way. 1988: schuh was expanded alongside Wrygges and Wrygges Man within the Goldberg business with stores and concessions across Scotland, Wales and England. New standalone stores opened in Ayr (on High Street), Birmingham (in the Pavillions), Cardiff Queens West, Glasgow (at Parkhead Forge), Hounslow (in the Treaty Centre), Paisley (on the High Street and a sale shop in the Piazza), Southend (in the Royals Centre) and York (on the Stonegate). 1989: at its peak, Goldberg expanded schuh (and concessions within Wrygges and Wrygges Man) to 52 locations (including a new concession store at Merry Hill) however by the year end, 34 would remain. 1990: Goldberg tried to rebrand Wrygges as 'News' and 'ing' with schuh concessions in many locations however fell into administration before summer 1990. The schuh business was restructured with a new management team established in this buy back (six stores were saved - Glasgow Union Street, Edinburgh North Bridge and Rose Street, Aberdeen Trinity Centre, Hamilton Regent Way and Newcastle Eldon Square). A new store opened in Kirkcaldy. 1991: schuh HQ moved to Livingston at Dunlop Square, the Hamilton and Kirkcaldy units were closed and a deal was struck to open two concession styles stores in Glasgow (above Internacionale on Argyle Street) and Edinburgh (above State of Independence on Princes Street). 1992: schuh opened a new store in Dundee on the Cowgate and in Nottingham on Angel Row. 1993: saw the first major high street location in Leeds open on Commercial Street. 1994: new stores opened in Hull (on Whitefriargate), Liverpool (on Church Street) and Manchester (on Market Street). 1995: the concessions in Glasgow and Edinburgh closed (alongside the Rose Street location) and saw flagship branches open on Argyle Street in Glasgow and Frederick Street in Edinburgh as well as a unit in Sheffield on Fargate.