Stuart Paver, managing director of shoe retailer Pavers and its
website shoe-shop.com, has been named Ernst & Young’s northern
business-to-consumer entrepreneur of the year. The judges
highlighted Pavers’ impressive rate of growth in turnover and
profit, adding that the business’s family values, team, cost
structure, product style, and sourcing strategy put it in good
stead to withstand the competitive pressure of today’s
marketplace.
York-based Pavers was founded in 1971 by Stuart’s mother
Catherine Paver. Stuart joined the family business after leaving
school and subsequently opened a number of high street stores and
factory outlets. In 1998 he began to explore the commercial
possibilities of the internet, which led him to launch
shoe-shop.com. He continued Pavers’ expansion and opened a
standalone retail offering called Staccato in 2006. Later this
year will see Pavers break into India in a joint venture that
will have two factories and 200 outlets selling the Pavers
England product in 2009. Paver has grand plans for his Indian
joint-venture, aiming to list it in Delhi within five years.
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