Shoe Zone has swung to a pre-tax loss of £2.3m in its first half - down from a profit of £2.6m.

The discount shoe retailer said it had a difficult trading environment in the 26 weeks to March 29, as reported by Retail Gazette.

Shoe Zone, which has stores in Gloucester and Cheltenham, saw sales fall 6.5% to £71.5m. It was hit by a 10% fall in store sales to £53.3m, due to trading out of 31 fewer stores over the period.

Digital sales were up 6.4% to £18.2m, boosted by free next day delivery on all shoezone.com orders.

Shoe Zone closed 21 stores during the half and ended the period with 278 stores. It said it plans to relocate and refit more stores this year, which will all be open before Christmas.

The retailer maintained its profit guidance for the year of £5m, which had been revised down from £10m due to weak consumer confidence and unseasonal weather in the first quarter.

It said it had seen improved trading in the second quarter and predicts a more positive second half.