E-commerce company Footway Group AB has convened an extraordinary general meeting for its shareholders on Jan. 25, 2024, at the company’s premises in Kista, Sweden. The company stated in a press release that it “will shortly apply for plan negotiations to complete the reconstruction formally,” and it is expected to make a debt reduction payment of approximately SEK 70 million (€6.34m) at the end of the first quarter. It also intends to carry out a new share issue using the issue authorization to finance future planned operations. The group, which operates a total of twelve e-commerce platforms, has been in reconstruction since July 25, 2023.
Footway provided some background information on the successful restructuring process that has occurred since then. This includes that the company has focused intensively on developing and improving its Footway+ service. This service allows e-tailers to use the company’s infrastructure for key business functions such as logistics and customer support. By implementing artificial intelligence, Footway has also streamlined many of its processes, leading to higher productivity and lower operating costs, which is crucial to remaining competitive in a rapidly changing digital marketplace.
In addition, the company has undertaken a strategic restructuring of its logistics by consolidating all logistics operations into a central warehouse in Eskilstuna. This process, expected to be completed in January, aims to optimize logistics flows and reduce time- and resource-intensive redundancies in the company’s distribution network. The centralization is expected to generate approximately SEK 30 million in annual savings through lower rental, administration and system costs. In addition, freight costs are expected to decrease by 5-7 percent, which equates to savings of SEK 10 million to 15 million per year.
Through the above measures, the company has improved its cash flow and streamlined its warehouse management system, resulting in a halving of stock. Footway states this is an important milestone as it frees up capital and resources for further investment and growth.
