Member Article

Public Desire Shortlisted for Prestigious Drapers Footwear Awards

Manchester-based online women’s footwear retailer Public Desire (publicdesire.com) is in the running for a brace of awards at the 2016 Drapers Footwear Awards on 30th June.

The company, which recorded turnover of £9m in its first full year of trading (from January 2015 to January 2016), has been nominated for Footwear Pure-play Retailer of the Year and Best New Business.

Since launching in September 2014, Public Desire has seen a 900% increase in the number of units sold, while employee numbers rose from 8 to 38 within a year.

Public Desire’s strong performance in the last year has been attributed to the company’s business model, which focuses on quick turnaround on new product to supply customer demand. Some of its most popular designs have been known to sell out within one hour.

The company has also enjoyed strong growth on social media, with its following on Instagram – a direct window to customers – rising from zero to 400,000 followers within 12 months and currently standing at 716,000.

Public Desire Managing Director Qasim Akhlaq said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for the Drapers Footwear Awards. This is great recognition of the continuing success of Public Desire in delivering fashion-forward footwear at affordable prices. We are very excited about the future of the brand.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Thain .