Name

Public Desire

Legal name

Public Desire

Website

https://publicdesire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Fashion Retail

NAICS

Shoe Retailers (458210), Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers (458)

SIC

Retail-Shoe Stores (5661), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Casual & Lifestyle Footwear Retail (CRAAADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dress & Formal Footwear Retail (CRAAADAC)

Keywords

• Women's footwear retail
• Online fashion store
• Heels and boots
• Women's clothing e-commerce
• Fashion accessories retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Retail Sales: One-time product sales through owned e-commerce website. Products include women's footwear (heels, boots, flats), clothing (dresses, tops, trousers, skirts), and accessories (bags, earrings). Revenue generated through individual transaction purchases with no subscription component.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Public Desire is a UK-based direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer that sells trend-led women's footwear (heels, boots, flats, sandals, including wide-fit ranges), women's clothing (dresses, co-ords, tops, trousers, skirts, jumpsuits, outerwear), and bags & accessories through its own Shopify-powered online storefront. The company ships globally and offers flexible payment options including buy-now-pay-later services such as Klarna, Clearpay, and LayBuy.

Product overview

Public Desire is a women's fashion footwear and clothing brand offering a single unified e-commerce platform. The core product portfolio centers on footwear, specifically heels (including stilettos, mid heels, kitten heels, block heels, platform heels, mules, court heels, embellished heels, and wide fit options) and boots (knee high, over the knee, ankle, and long boots with various heel types). The brand expands its offering with flats and sandals, wide fit sizing options across multiple categories, women's clothing (dresses, tops, trousers, skirts, jumpsuits, outerwear), and bags and accessories. All products are sold through a single Shopify-powered e-commerce storefront, with promotional sale sections offering discounted items across all categories. The company operates internationally with multi-currency and multi-country shipping support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heels Women's heels collection including stilettos, mid heels, kitten heels, block heels, platform heels, court heels, mules, embellished, lace up, slingback, bow, diamante, ankle strap, pearl, perspex, party, summer, and wedding heel styles, offered in sizes UK 3 to UK 9 with wide fit options.
• Boots Women's boots across knee high, over the knee, ankle, flat, western, wide fit, biker, sock fit, croc, wide calf, and ultra mini boot styles in black, white, brown, burgundy, red, pink, tan, slate grey, and silver colorways.
• Long Boots Extended-length boots featuring knee-high and over-the-knee designs with block heels, flared heels, slim block heels, and flat options, including wide fit sizing options.
• Mid Heels Low-to-medium height women's heels designed for versatile wear offering comfort for workdays and nights out, including block heels, mules, slingback styles, strappy designs, and kitten heels.
• Ankle Boots Short boots reaching ankle height featuring chunky soles, block heels, platforms, western styles, sock fit designs, faux fur lined options, and platform mules.
• Flat Sandals
• Wide Fit Collection Extended width footwear options across multiple categories including wide fit heels, wide fit boots, wide fit flats, wide fit block heels, wide fit platform heels, wide fit stilettos, and wide fit wedding heels.
• Clothing Women's fashion apparel including dresses (mini, maxi, casual, party), co-ords and matching sets, tops and bralets, bodysuits, capri sets, trousers, shorts, skirts, jumpsuits and playsuits, hoodies and sweatshirts, joggers and leggings, swimwear, outerwear and jackets, and curve sizing.
• Bags & Accessories Women's handbags, mini bags, gold bags, and fashion accessories including jewelry pieces such as earrings.
• Sale Discounted items across all product categories including heels, boots, flats, wide fit, clothing, dresses, and bags, with price reductions ranging from 9% to 80% off.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KlarnacoreOthersBNPL payment partner enabling customers to pay in installments. Integral to accessibility strategy for affordable fashion.
• ClearpaycoreOthersBNPL payment partner (Afterpay) for installment payments on purchases.
• LayBuyminorOthersBNPL payment option offering 6-week payment plan for purchases.
• PayPalcoreOthersPrimary payment processor alongside major credit cards.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the Public Desire online store with shopping cart, checkout, and payment processing infrastructure.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PrettyLittleThing: UK-based fast-fashion DTC brand with deep women's footwear, clothing and accessories assortment at accessible price points. Directly comparable on category, customer demographic, BNPL-led checkout, and trend-led merchandising.
• Boohoo: UK affordable fashion retailer selling trend-driven women's apparel and footwear through owned DTC storefronts. Overlaps with Public Desire on customer, price band, heavy discounting and broad size range.
• Simmi London: UK-based online footwear retailer specializing in women's heels, boots and statement shoes. Closest direct competitor on heels-heavy assortment, accessible price points and Instagram-driven marketing.
• Ego Shoes: UK online footwear retailer focused on women's statement heels, boots and occasionwear shoes. Comparable on heels-centric SKU mix, affordable pricing and fashion-forward positioning.
• Nasty Gal: UK-founded, now US-led DTC fashion brand for young women selling footwear, clothing and accessories. Comparable on trend-led, affordable, statement-focused offering to a similar Gen Z / millennial customer.
• Missguided: UK-based affordable women's fashion retailer offering heels, boots and clothing. Directly comparable on demographic, price band, promotional intensity and DTC e-commerce model.

Emerging players

• Shein: Global ultra-fast-fashion retailer with a vast women's footwear and apparel assortment at the lowest price points. Competes for the same value-seeking customer; differentiates via scale and supply-chain speed rather than niche depth.

Broad incumbents

• ASOS: Large UK-based multi-brand online fashion retailer offering third-party and own-label women's footwear and apparel. Overlaps on customer demographic and trend-driven assortment but operates at vastly greater scale and category breadth.
• Steve Madden: US-headquartered footwear brand with broad women's heels, boots and casual assortment at mid-market price points. Comparable on footwear-led product mix and trend-driven design but at higher price band and global retail scale.

Regional players

• Shoe Zone: UK value footwear high-street retailer with women's and family shoe offerings. Comparable on value-pricing and UK market positioning but operates physical stores and a broader family demographic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PublicDesire
• Facebookfacebook.com/publicdesire

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Public Desire