Jimmy Choo celebrates the march of men's shoes

Shoemaker hails rapid growth in sales to "hedonistic opionated men"

James Moore
Thursday 25 August 2016 17:20 BST
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Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington for Jimmy Choo - because men like them too
Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington for Jimmy Choo - because men like them too

It was a cliche long before Imeldla Marcos’ was revealed to have collected enough shoes to fill a Schuh warehouse in the wake of the ousting of her husband Ferdinand as President of the Philippines.

Women love shoes. Can’t get enough of them. It’s still being aired today, all over popular culture. Remember when Penny from the Big Bang Theory built an app to tell her where she could buy whatever she saw on the street with the help of Sheldon? Hilarious.

Never mind the rooms full of trainers seen in the homes of male rappers and athletes featured on MTV’s Cribs. They’re trainers, you see. There’s a difference.

Even when there isn’t any difference at all. But perhaps Jimmy Choo could finish off the cliche once and for all?

Once the brand of wealthy women like Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, Jimmy Choo is increasingly becoming a hot property among, erm, men.

So said the company, while unveiling a sparking set of half year results (revenues up 9 per cent at £173m, operating profits up 42.6 per cent to £25m). They now account for 8 per cent of sales. Small beer as things stand, but that number is growing quickly.

“In total, we have 71 dual-gender stores globally and see the potential for continued growth in this sector, so that it will come to represent a proportion of our revenue well into double digits," the company droned. Nothing like a bit of corporate speak to be a passion killer.

It did hail “hedonistic opinionated men” in its annual report. Which is more like it from a fashion brand.

It probably isn’t enough to dispel the cliche, at least not yet. We’re not going to see Penny’s scientist squeeze Leonard in his Jimmys onscreen any time soon.

But in the real world Jimmy Choo’s are for me too. Bang!

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