EUROPE'S largest online shoe store has delivered a boost to e-commerce in the North-East by revealing that it has gone into profit eight months ahead of schedule.

Shoe-shop.com, founded by Middlesbrough menswear fashion specialist Steve Cochrane and footwear retailer Stuart Paver, has broken even well ahead of its original target of December this year.

Turnover is running in excess of £20,000 a week, a figure that is growing by 20 per cent every month.

The site went live in February last year with private funding raised on the strength of the duo's old economy businesses, Psyche menswear and footwear retailer Pavers Ltd.

Just over a year later, visitor numbers are more than 30,000 per week.

Mr Paver attributes the success to the values of high-quality customer service, the vast range of products that are available from an online outlet, and the founders' experience of traditional retail.

However, he also feels vindicated in his belief in selling to the consumer on the Internet, a sector that has received more than its fair share of criticism since the days of the dotcom boom 18 months ago.

He said: "Shoe-shop.com has now reached a pivotal point in profitability.

"We always maintained not only that selling to the consumer is possible online, but that the Internet is actually the natural home for the huge market in what was traditionally mail order footwear sales.

"Our business model is based on the premise that the Internet is a faster, more reliable and more flexible alternative for this traditional mail order business, and we have been completely vindicated by these figures."

Mr Paver and Mr Cochrane do not believe that their relative lack of funding has hampered them so far.

Mr Paver said: "Major venture capital investment has been a poisoned chalice for some companies, especially in recent months when the technology markets have suffered.

"Dotcoms that have benefited from major investment and spent heavily have come under increasing pressure from their backers, while we have quietly gone about succeeding on a limited budget."

He added: "Our current level of trade makes us now one of the top 200 footwear retailing companies in the UK, and if our growth rates continue we will be in the top 100 by the end of the year, which would be a remarkable feat for any company."

Shoe-shop.com stocks about 10,000 lines by more than 60 brands including Scholl, Patrick Cox, Timberland, Gucci, Nike, Paul Smith and Clarks.