Brown Shoe Company
Encyclopedia
Brown Shoe Company is a footwear
company that owns a variety of footwear brand
s in the United States
and Canada
. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri
, a suburb of St. Louis
.
The company was created in St. Louis
and was originally named Bryan, Brown & Company after its founders George Warren Brown and Alvin Bryan. The name was changed to Brown Shoe Company in 1893. The George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis
was endowed in 1925 by G.W. Brown's widow.
chain. It also operates 300 specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada and China under the Brown Shoe Closet, FX LaSalle and Naturalizer names, and Shoes.com and other various .com's, the Company's e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe's wholesale divisions own and market leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Etienne Aigner
, Dr. Scholl's, Carlos by Carlos Santana and Fergie Footwear branded footwear for adults, and Barbie, Nickelodeon character footwear for children.
and his dog Tige. They both appear on the company's television commercials. In the 1940s and 50s the company made a brief foray into the comic book publishing industry, producing Buster Brown Comics, which featured the character on the cover, but contained different adventure features, such as Robin Hood
. For a brief time in the 1980s and 1990s, the characters were updated to look more contemporary.
Richard Barker played Buster Brown in the Brown Shoe Company advertising campaign as a small child. There is a book written about Richard Barker and his life as Buster Brown in the advertising campaign. The book about Richard Barker is titled “Buster Brown and the Cowboy”.
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
company that owns a variety of footwear brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri
Clayton, Missouri
Clayton is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 15,939 at the 2010 census. The city was organized in 1877 and is named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the courthouse.-Geography:...
, a suburb of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Origins
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and was originally named Bryan, Brown & Company after its founders George Warren Brown and Alvin Bryan. The name was changed to Brown Shoe Company in 1893. The George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
was endowed in 1925 by G.W. Brown's widow.
Business operations
Brown Shoe Company, Inc. is a $2.3 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The company operates the 1,100-store Famous FootwearFamous 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. Established in 1960 as a single store, "Famous" is regarded as both a forerunner and champion of the trend towards the...
chain. It also operates 300 specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada and China under the Brown Shoe Closet, FX LaSalle and Naturalizer names, and Shoes.com and other various .com's, the Company's e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe's wholesale divisions own and market leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Etienne Aigner
Etienne Aigner
Etienne Aigner AG is a high fashion house based in Munich, Germany, that specializes in luxury goods such as handbags, luggage, belts, wallets, leather accessories and so on...
, Dr. Scholl's, Carlos by Carlos Santana and Fergie Footwear branded footwear for adults, and Barbie, Nickelodeon character footwear for children.
Company mascots
Since 1904, its mascots have been cartoon characters Buster BrownBuster Brown
Buster Brown was a comic strip character created in 1902 by Richard Felton Outcault who was known for his association with the Brown Shoe Company. This mischievous young boy was loosely based on a boy near Outcault's home in Flushing, New York...
and his dog Tige. They both appear on the company's television commercials. In the 1940s and 50s the company made a brief foray into the comic book publishing industry, producing Buster Brown Comics, which featured the character on the cover, but contained different adventure features, such as Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. For a brief time in the 1980s and 1990s, the characters were updated to look more contemporary.
Richard Barker played Buster Brown in the Brown Shoe Company advertising campaign as a small child. There is a book written about Richard Barker and his life as Buster Brown in the advertising campaign. The book about Richard Barker is titled “Buster Brown and the Cowboy”.