Faith shoes: A new toehold for John Kinnaird
Scottish entrepreneur John Kinnaird is on the brink of expanding his retail empire by buying struggling shoe company Faith.
Kinnaird, a former colleague of Sir Tom Hunter, already owns shoe chain Dolcis, which he bought in December 2006 for £2.7m. The business had sustained heavy losses and was ripe for an overhaul. Kinnaird described Dolcis as an “old, tired brand that hadn't been invested in for 20 years”.
The Faith deal sees him teaming up with investment fund Agilo, which owns teenage girl fashion business Chilli Red.
The two partners plan to combine Faith, Envy and Chilli Red to create a business that will have 155 stores and approximately 300 concessions in House of Fraser, Debenhams and Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette.