Genesco Inc. is an American publicly owned specialty retailer of branded footwear and accessories and is a wholesaler of branded and licensed footwear based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded as the Jarman Shoe Company in 1924 as a footwear manufacturer, the company changed its name to the General Shoe Company in 1931 and became a public company in 1939. The company took its current name, Genesco, in 1959. Genesco exited footwear manufacturing in 2002 and now contracts with independent, third parties located outside the United States to manufacture its branded and licensed footwear. In June 2011, Genesco acquired U.K. retail chain and web business Schuh, which gave them an already well-established grounding in a market outside of the U.S.
The Very Group Limited is a multi-brand online retailer and financial services provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head offices are based in the Speke area of the city of Liverpool, England. The brand was established in November 2005 as a result of the merger of the former Littlewoods and Shop Direct companies. The retailer was known as Littlewoods Shop Direct Group until a corporate rebranding to Shop Direct Group in May 2008. In 2013, the company rebranded to Shop Direct, dropping the 'group' from its name. Shop Direct rebranded themselves to The Very Group in 2020.
Payless ShoeSource Worldwide, LLC, is an American multinational discount footwear chain. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez, Payless was a privately held company owned by Blum Capital, and Golden Gate Capital. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation, which merged with The May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the U.S. for its Pro Wings line of discount sneakers, which often had Velcro straps instead of laces. In 1996, Payless became an independent publicly held company. In 2004, Payless announced it would exit the Parade chain and would close 100 Payless Shoe outlets. On August 17, 2007, the company acquired the Stride Rite Corporation and changed its name to Collective Brands, Inc. As of 2020, Payless is owned by a group of investors led by Alden Global Capital and Axar Capital Management.
Cinven Limited is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States–based corporations, and emerging market firms that fit with their core businesses, and necessitate a minimum equity investment of €100 million or more. As of 2024, it has €44 billion in assets under management.
Shoe Carnival Inc. is an American retailer of family footwear. The company operates 429 stores throughout the midwest, south, and southeast regions, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by David Russell in 1978 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.
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.
Nine West Holdings is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under the new name Premier Brands Group Holdings Llc.
Wet Seal was an American fast fashion retailer, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The retailer specialized in selling clothing and accessories. The company was founded in Newport Beach, California, by Lorne Huycke in 1962 as "Lorne's". The "Wet Seal" name is derived from a comment Huycke's wife made during a fashion show that a model wearing a bathing suit looked like a "wet seal." The company was incorporated as Wet Seal in 1990.
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states before liquidating throughout 2008 and 2009.
The Aldo Group, branded and stylised as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational retailer specializing in shoes and accessories. Established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, the company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun. Its corporate headquarters are based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Stores in Canada and the U.S. are owned by Aldo Group, while international stores are franchised.
Nine West, also known as 9 West, is an American online fashion retailer which is based in White Plains, New York. It was founded in 1983 and closed its brick and mortar stores business in 2018. Its products continue to be sold at other retailers.
Pavers Ltd, also known as Pavers Shoes, is a family-owned footwear business operating in the UK and Ireland. Pavers currently has more than 100 stores, all managed from the head office in York.
AllSaints is a British fashion retailer headquartered in London, UK. AllSaints sells menswear, womenswear, footwear, and accessories in 281 stores, and has approximately 2,400 employees across 27 countries and regions including the UK, France, Ireland, USA, Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China.
John Vincent "Vince" Camuto was an American women's footwear designer and shoe industry executive, best known for co-founding the women's fashion brand Nine West. Following the 1999 sale of Nine West to Jones Apparel Group for $900 million, Camuto became CEO and Chief Creative Officer of a new fashion company, Camuto Group, maker of the Jessica Simpson brand. On October 10, 2018, Vince Camuto was acquired by Authentic Brands Group, as part of the company's definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in the intellectual property of the Camuto Group's proprietary brands in partnership with DSW Inc.
Pepkor is a South African-based investment and holding company focused on the discount and value consumer retail and fintech markets. The majority of operations are in South Africa, and operations extend to other African countries and Brazil. It manages retail brands, selling predominantly clothing, footwear, and homeware products, in addition to household furniture, appliances, consumer electronics, and building materials.
Global Brands Group Holding Limited is a bankrupt holding company that has its own brand of apparel and footwear, as well as being a brand management company. It designs, develops, markets and sells products under a diverse array of owned and licensed brands in a wide range of product categories. In June 2021, despite a series of asset sales, the company's liabilities still exceeded its asset value. Trading in the shares of the financially stressed entity was halted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange due to its inability to file annual results. In 2022 Creative Artists Agency took full ownership of the joint venture, CAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group (CAA-GBG), a partnership that was launched in 2016. CAA-GBG is a Brand Management Company. A Brand Management Company is a business that uses techniques to increase the perceived value of a product line or brand over time. The company manages brands including celebrity brands such as David Beckham and Drew Barrymore.
Donald McCarthy, was a British entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was most known for having been the chairman of House of Fraser.
Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital.
Journeys is a specialty chain retailer, owned by Genesco, of branded fashion footwear and accessories with approximately 1,200 stores nationwide. Journeys operates five retail concepts across North America including Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, Underground by Journeys and Little Burgundy. Journeys is focused on "quickly shifting fashion footwear trends.", and is described as the anti-Foot Locker.
Need Supply Co. was a U.S.-based e-commerce company founded by Christopher Bossola which was in business 1996–2020. The company shut down in September 2020 due to financial problems brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
