Dolcis began life on a street barrow in 1863, John Upson started to sell his shoes on Woolwich Town Market. Business grew, and from the barrow he graduated to his first store in Woolwich called Upson™ the Great Boot Provider.
In 1920 the Company went public and the name Dolcis started to appear over the shop doors. It is believed that he lifted the name from a Swiss Sock Stamp.
In 1956, Dolcis became part of the British Shoe Corporation. Dolcis dominated the fashion scene, always first with new lines of shoes. Dolcis, within British Shoe continued to provide bold, high fashion footwear for all walks of life.
In 1967 Dolcis relocated to Leicester.
In 1985 Dolcis launched a new image to keep up to date with current fashion trends, the first store to reflect this fresh image was Ealing, creating a black and white concept.
In 1988 Dolcis was chosen by British shoe as the pilot company for the installation of EPOS equipment.
In 1996 a new concept store was opened in Leicester providing customers with a warmer atmosphere that is more contemporary, inviting and fashionable. The new concept was inspired by a French bistro.
In 1998 Dolcis as a business was brought by the Alexon Group and relocated to Luton.
In 2006 Dolcis was sold by the Alexon group in a deal involving retail entrepreneur John Kinnaird. John Kinnaird has unveiled an exciting plan to refurbish the chains stores, boost the fashionability of its products and bring the Dolcis brand thumping into the year 2007. Plans will see 20 of the Dolcis shops refitted by the end of 2007, another 20 in the first half of 2008 and the remainder by the end of that year. With plans to open new stores sometime in the next twelve months, look out for a bright new Dolcis near you.
Dolcis currently have 65 high street branches across the UK, in addition to these there are also over 150 Dolcis concessions primarily within Bay Trading and Envy stores. Dolcis stores ensure that customer service levels are maintained to a high standard. We truly believe that the most important person in our stores is the customer.