Swedish Footway Group AB announced on July 4 that it is separating its e-commerce business as part of a strategic review. The separation is in line with the company’s efforts over the last four years to split e-commerce and platform into separate business areas. The company’s platform has grown significantly faster than expected over the last six months, and the separation allows for a clearer focus on each area.
The split means that Footway Group will form a new group of companies within the new Ecom Group AB, which will wholly own four subsidiaries: Eyewear Ecom AB, Sports Ecom AB, Footwear Ecom AB and Fashion Ecom AB. Footway Group will then transfer the e-commerce business currently owned and operated by Footway Group to Ecom Group and its subsidiaries.
After the demerger, the parent company’s revenues will mainly consist of selling services to companies using the Footway+ platform (footwayplus.com), including platform revenues from Ecom Group AB and its subsidiaries. The platform business’ revenue from the company’s own operations amounts to approximately SEK 130 million (€11.4m) in 2023.
Footway+ is an Operation-as-a-Service offered by Footway Group. It is available in 25 markets and 18 languages, and since June 2024, it has also been operational in the US. The service is designed to simplify and improve the operation of e-commerce stores by offering an integrated package solution that includes storage, logistics and customer support.
“The demerger is an important milestone for the company. We have worked hard for four years to fine-tune our platform to enable e-retailers to expand internationally in a cost-efficient way without investments and cumbersome integration. The platform is now used by 35 customers and we are growing fast,” said Daniel Mühlbach, CEO of Footway Group.
The division and strategic review is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.
Footway’s latest financial figures, published in April, showed that turnover had more than halved after the group completed a more than six-month restructuring process. The figures for the second quarter are expected shortly.
“As part of the strategic review, we will actively look for partners to further develop the e-commerce stores in close cooperation. The potential is huge, the stores have strong brands, over 3 million customers and a strong team,” said Mühlbach.
