KPMG Administrators are searching for a buyer for the beleaguered Dolcis shoe chain.

Ailing footwear retailer Dolcis has today gone into administration, despite owner John Kinnaird’s long-running efforts to bring the shoe chain back to life.

KPMG Administrators have been appointed to find a buyer for the company, which operates 185 UK stores and concessions. In the meantime it said it: “will seek to continue to trade from as many of the 185 stores as possible.”

Brian Green, Joint Administrator and KPMG Restructuring Partner, named the current retail environment as a factor in the shoe chain’s demise. He said: “Dolcis is to some extent a victim of the tough trading conditions in which the retail sector is currently operating. Earlier this month KPMG and the British Retail Consortium reported that footwear sales fell for the third consecutive month in December.”

Green does, however, believe that Dolcis is still attractive to potential buyers. He added: “There are a significant number of positive factors about this business to make it an attractive acquisition and any interested parties should contact us for information.”

Dolcis was founded in 1863 when John Upson started to sell shoes on Woolwich Town Market. The stall was a success and he opened his first store in Woolwich, named Upson, the Great Boot Provider.

It started trading as Dolcis in 1920, going through a number of buyouts over the decades – most recently in 2006 when it was sold by the Alexon group in a deal involving Kinnaird.

Despite an ambitious restructuring plan, including refitting 20 Dolcis stores by the end of 2007, Kinnaird’s efforts to save the business have been unsuccessful.

By Natasha Piscitelli