Bristol: The Vanaudenhove Family's €54M Reinvention in the Footwear Sector and Beyond
Vanaudenhove family
After the Second World War, faced with a surplus of unsold shoes, the brothers Omer and Luc Vanaudenhove (pictured) took the initiative of selling these products by mail order. This led to the opening of a new outlet and the creation of the Shoe Post brand. With time, the family entity has grown to become Euro Shoe Union, a major distributor with brands such as Shoe Discount, Shoes in the Box, Avance, as well as Bristol and Van Woensel in the Netherlands.
In addition to footwear distribution, Euro Shoe has also entered the leather goods sector. DIY by joining forces with the Brico via a franchise system. She has also experimented in other fields, such as textile distribution with the Mexx and toy sales. However, economic reality combined with disappointing performance led the family to bring in outside management. This was marked by the appointment of Kurt Moons, former CEO of Brantano, Santana and the Eddy Merckx Group, as the first non-family CEO.
The managerial transition coincided with a period of economic turbulence exacerbated by the Internet crisis, affecting the retail sector. Faced with these challenges, the company suffered significant losses, amounting to as much as 10 millions in 2017. As a result, restructuring was initiated with Elise Vanaudenhove taking over management and the closure of 60 stores. The new strategy saw the transition of Shoe Post in Bristol and financial stabilization helped by profits from the Vana Real Estate group.
The company's control structure is based on two foundations governed by 23 members of the Vanaudenhove family. Despite rumors of a possible sale, the family remains at the helm. The year marked by the pandemic in 2020 was also a difficult one, with a deficit of 15 million euros, The Vanaudenhove family has assets estimated at more than 54 million euros.
