Dolcis Shoes
Dolcis Shoes is a UK shoe retailer that sells online and in stores. It began in 1863 when John Upson sold shoes from a street barrow at Woolwich Market. The first shop, called the Great Boot Provider, opened in Woolwich. The Dolcis name started appearing on shop fronts around 1920.
By 1956 Dolcis had about 250 stores and joined the British Shoe Corporation. The company moved to Leicester in 1967. In 1988 Dolcis was chosen as the pilot for electronic checkout systems (EPOS).
In 1997 the business was bought by the Alexon Group and Electra Fleming and moved to Luton. In 2006 John Kinnaird bought Dolcis and planned to refurbish stores and update the brand. By the end of 2007 there were 65 High Street shops and over 150 concessions, and Dolcis began selling online.
The company ran into trouble during the credit crunch and went into administration in January 2008. In February 2008 Stylo Group bought the Dolcis brand and 24 shops, which were rebranded Barratts Shoes. The brand later reformed and relaunched its online collection in 2012 after being acquired by the Jacobson Group.
Macintosh Retail Group, the then owner of Dolcis, went bankrupt in December 2015. In 2012 Harvey Jacobson of the Jacobson Group bought Dolcis, and in 2013 they relaunched collections to celebrate the brand’s 150th anniversary.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:54 (CET).