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Famous Footwear
Famous Footwear is a nationwide chain of retail stores in the United States dealing in branded footwear, generally at prices discounted from manufacturer's suggested prices. The chain is a division of the St. Louis–based Caleres and had more than 1,125 stores in 2010.
Famous Footwear began in 1960 with the establishment of a single shoe store, Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet (launched as "Neil's Shoes"), in Madison, Wisconsin. The store was launched by 29-year-old Neil Moldenhauer and was financed by a $10,000 loan.
In 1963, Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet hired a college student named Brian Cook as a stock boy, a man who later rose up the company ladder to become president of Famous Footwear in 1979. Nearly half a century later Cook recalled:
"We were one of the first factory outlets in the Midwest.... The store bought all closeouts and was primarily a women's store. The market had never seen anything like that... Most of the stores that shoppers went to were mom-and-pop stores, department stores were all very expensive, not at all like they are today. The market was wide open for big, open formats selling discount product. As a result, we started a rapid store expansion program. We ended up putting a lot of little stores out of business....
"Eventually, in the early 1990s, everybody was a discunter. Everyone was opening shoe stores like ours. Everyone copied our concept. We were groundbreaking and very revolutionary at the time, and not very popular with a lot of regular-priced retailers.
The name "Famous Footwear" was launched in 1964 when Moldenhauer opened a second store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. By the end of the 1960s, eight Famous Footwear and Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet stores were in operation, with combined annual revenues approaching $1 million.
By 1974, all stores in the chain—which then consisted of 15 stores—were unified under the Famous Footwear banner. Ninety percent of the chain was purchased from Moldenhauer that year by a leveraged buyout led by longtime employees Dave Orfan and Brian Cook, along with a group of outside investors. Orfan initially assumed the role of president with Cook as executive vice president, a relationship which changed in 1979 when Cook assumed the presidency. The company became an attractive investment opportunity for the St. Louis–based Brown Shoe Company, which acquired the firm and immediately set about planning for rapid expansion. By 1986, the chain consisted of 230 stores.
In 1990, Famous Footwear opened a 740,000-square-foot (69,000 m2) distribution center in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, near Madison. This was followed by another 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee, constructed in 1993. Fueled by Brown Shoe Co. money, the chain had expanded to 722 stores in 44 states by the end of that year.
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Famous Footwear
Famous Footwear is a nationwide chain of retail stores in the United States dealing in branded footwear, generally at prices discounted from manufacturer's suggested prices. The chain is a division of the St. Louis–based Caleres and had more than 1,125 stores in 2010.
Famous Footwear began in 1960 with the establishment of a single shoe store, Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet (launched as "Neil's Shoes"), in Madison, Wisconsin. The store was launched by 29-year-old Neil Moldenhauer and was financed by a $10,000 loan.
In 1963, Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet hired a college student named Brian Cook as a stock boy, a man who later rose up the company ladder to become president of Famous Footwear in 1979. Nearly half a century later Cook recalled:
"We were one of the first factory outlets in the Midwest.... The store bought all closeouts and was primarily a women's store. The market had never seen anything like that... Most of the stores that shoppers went to were mom-and-pop stores, department stores were all very expensive, not at all like they are today. The market was wide open for big, open formats selling discount product. As a result, we started a rapid store expansion program. We ended up putting a lot of little stores out of business....
"Eventually, in the early 1990s, everybody was a discunter. Everyone was opening shoe stores like ours. Everyone copied our concept. We were groundbreaking and very revolutionary at the time, and not very popular with a lot of regular-priced retailers.
The name "Famous Footwear" was launched in 1964 when Moldenhauer opened a second store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. By the end of the 1960s, eight Famous Footwear and Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet stores were in operation, with combined annual revenues approaching $1 million.
By 1974, all stores in the chain—which then consisted of 15 stores—were unified under the Famous Footwear banner. Ninety percent of the chain was purchased from Moldenhauer that year by a leveraged buyout led by longtime employees Dave Orfan and Brian Cook, along with a group of outside investors. Orfan initially assumed the role of president with Cook as executive vice president, a relationship which changed in 1979 when Cook assumed the presidency. The company became an attractive investment opportunity for the St. Louis–based Brown Shoe Company, which acquired the firm and immediately set about planning for rapid expansion. By 1986, the chain consisted of 230 stores.
In 1990, Famous Footwear opened a 740,000-square-foot (69,000 m2) distribution center in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, near Madison. This was followed by another 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2) distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee, constructed in 1993. Fueled by Brown Shoe Co. money, the chain had expanded to 722 stores in 44 states by the end of that year.