Customised shoe retailer, Shoes of Prey is closing its outlets in Aussie and US department stores, as it turns its focus strictly to e-commerce.

From late October Shoes of Prey will begin to wind down its physical design studios in Nordstrom in the US and David Jones in Sydney, which the retailer said is a strategic refocus of the business model “based on the maturity point of the customer, maturity of the broader marketplace for customisation, and the maturity of the pillars of Shoes of Prey’s business, to optimise profitability and accelerate growth.”

“Shoes of Prey is a pioneer of both mass customisation of shoes and omni-channel retail strategy, and we’re proud that an Australian company has led this global trend for personalised products, which is now truly mainstream,” said Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes of Prey.

“Omni-channel retail has been hugely important for our success to date and both Nordstrom and David Jones have been incredible partners, playing a vital role in validating and giving people trust and awareness about this wild idea we had in a living room seven years ago. It gave our customers the experience they needed at the time, when this idea was so new. There is a reason so many other new customisation brands are also experimenting with this channel now.

Fox said over the past 12 months since taking the $US15 million investment from Nordstrom, BlueSky and Greycroft and relocating to the US, the seven year old company has invested heavily in technology including a 3D designer, product mix, manufacturing, supply chain and our brand. “Along with product customisation now being a key retail trend, as a business everything is now aligned, and the biggest growth and profitability opportunity for us in pureplay online,” she said.

“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved in the past 12 months and we are excited to refocus our efforts as an online retailer, giving women exactly what they want, when they want it, around the world. Our goal is to play a key role in driving a movement towards far more sustainable and profitable ways of manufacturing global fashion.”

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