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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Leather Goods |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Founder | John A. Frye |
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Products | shoes, boots, bags |
| Parent | Authentic Brands Group |
| Website | thefryecompany.com |
The Frye Company is an American manufacturer of shoes, boots and leather accessories. Founded in 1863, it claims to be the oldest continuously operated American shoe company. [1] [2]
In 1863, John A. Frye opened the first Frye shop on Elm Street in Marlborough, Massachusetts. [3] In the 1890s, Marlborough manufactured more shoes than any other city in the U.S. During that time, and Frye was one of the largest and most successful footwear companies in the entire country.[ citation needed ]
During the 1960s Frye made custom boots for Jackie Kennedy, Bing Crosby, Jerry Lewis, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Ann-Margret, Walt Frazier, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Candice Bergen, Liza Minnelli, Carole King, Gene Autry, and President Richard Nixon. [3]
In 1944, John Frye retired and the Frye family sold the company to Don Ireland five years later.[ citation needed ]
The company also introduced the Harness Boot in the 1960s, inspired by Union cavalry in the Civil War.[ citation needed ]
In 1977, Don Ireland sold the company on to the Alberto-Culver Company.
The business was again sold in 1985, by Alberto-Culver to Stanley I. Kravetz. [4] Two years later, in 1987, a subsidiary of Reebok (The Rockport Company) acquired Frye from Kravetz, though Kravetz remained in position as president. Under Kravetz' leadership, the Frye brand was licensed to the Jimlar Corp, a footwear company that produced Coach shoes under license, [5] in 1993. In 1998, Kravetz bought back the label and sold it on to Jimlar Corp for an undisclosed amount. [4]
In 2010, Jimlar was acquired by Li & Fung. [6] Li & Fung spun off its brand management as Global Brands Group in 2014. [7]
In 2017 Authentic Brands Group (ABG) acquired a majority stake (51%) in Frye for $100 million, with GBG retaining a minority share in the business. [8] [9] [1] [10] A 2017 campaign entitled Made in the USA, featured a number of American actors and models showcasing their use of Frye footwear, including Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski, [11] Selah Marley, Christopher Abbot and Luka Sabbat. [12]
On 29 July 2021, GBG USA commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings and is putting its apparel and footwear brands up for sale with help from a $16 million bankruptcy loan. [13] The license owned by GBG for Frye, was then passed to Footwear Unlimited by ABG. [14]
The Frye Company opened its first retail store in 2011 in SoHo, New York City. [15] In 2013, Frye opened stores on Newbury Street in Boston, Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C., and Chicago.[ citation needed ] [16]
In 2015, Frye opened stores at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, NorthPark Center in Dallas, and Tysons Corner in Fairfax County, Virginia.[ citation needed ]
On March 27, 2020, all Frye Company retail stores were officially permanently closed. [17]
Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr. Martens also makes a range of accessories – such as shoe care products, clothing, and bags. The footwear is distinguished by its air-cushioned sole, upper shape, welted construction and yellow stitching. Dr Martens' design studio is in Camden Town, London; the manufacturing is in the UK, China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
DKNY is a New York City–based fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. The company specializes in a wide range of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Roots Corporation is a publicly held Canadian brand that sells apparel, leather bags, small leather goods, footwear, athletic wear, and home furnishings. The company was founded in 1973 in Toronto, Ontario, by Michael Budman and Don Green. In 2015, Roots was sold to Searchlight Capital Partners LP, an American investment firm.
Li & Fung Limited is a Hong Kong-based supply chain management company. Founded in 1906, the company experienced near-exponential growth since it first went public in 1973 by being the "go-to source" for apparel, toys, and other consumer goods manufacturing for western brands and retailers, reaching its peak market capitalization in 2011. For decades, Li & Fung provided product design, raw material sourcing, and manufacturing services to some of the biggest retailers in North America and Europe, but a global economic slowdown affected these retailers, leading to lower profits for the then-publicly traded company. Between 2011 and 2020, the company lost 95% of its market value, with its turnover almost halving. The decline has been attributed to the Internet and the rise of e-commerce and the resulting subsequent closing of specialty and department stores, specifically the rise of Alibaba, which connected Chinese manufacturers with buyers directly, but also Amazon, which encroached into the business of brick & mortar resellers that Li & Fung served.
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. or Wolverine Worldwide, is a publicly traded American footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. The shoemaker is known for its eponymous brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, as well as other brands, such as Hush Puppies and Merrell. The company also manufactures licensed footwear for other firms, such as Caterpillar and Harley-Davidson. In 2012, Wolverine World Wide added Saucony, Keds, Stride Rite and Sperry Top-Sider to its list of brands, after acquiring the Performance Lifestyle Group of Collective Brands in a $1.23 billion transaction that also involved the sale of Payless ShoeSource and Collective Licensing International to private equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital.
New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company.
Sperry or Sperry Top-Sider is an American brand of boat shoe designed in 1935 by Paul A. Sperry. Sperrys, or Top-Siders, were the first boat shoes introduced into the boating and footwear markets. Until January 2024, the Sperry brand was owned by Wolverine World Wide and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. It is currently owned by Authentic Brands Group, with the North America operations licensed to Aldo group.
Charles David is an American fashion company known for their design of shoes, founded by David and Charles Malka.
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.
The Rockport Group is an American shoe brand owned by Authentic Brands Group. Associated brands include Aravon, Dunham and Rockport, and the Rockport Cobb Hill Collection.
Alpina is a Slovenian footwear manufacturing company founded in 1947 after several private shoe making workshops with long tradition joined together in the town of Žiri. Initially named "Žiri Shoe Factory", it was renamed "Alpina" in 1951. In 1985, the company employed almost 2,000 people. Alpina operates as a joint stock company, with approximately a thousand employees producing over 1.7 million pairs of shoes and boots each year. The greater part of production is sold abroad under their own brand name.
Merrell is an American manufacturing company of footwear products. It was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John Schweizer in 1981 as a maker of high-performance hiking boots. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide. Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks. Other accessories include backpacks, stuff sacks, and bags.
The ALDO Group branded as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational corporation retailer that owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessories stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal, Quebec, in 1972, where its corporate headquarters based in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, remain. It has grown to become a worldwide corporation, with nearly 3,000 stores across 100 countries, under three retail banners: ALDO, Call It Spring/Spring and GLOBO. Stores in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland are owned by the Group, while international stores are franchised. The company once operated the now closed or rebranded banners Little Burgundy, Simard & Voyer, Christian Shoes, Access, Pegabo, Transit, Stoneridge, Locale, Feetfirst and FIRST.
Caleres Inc. is an American footwear company that owns and operates a variety of footwear brands. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1878 as Bryan, Brown & Company in St. Louis, it underwent several name changes; for a time, the Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company was the largest manufacturer of shoes in America. It went bankrupt in June 1939.
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.
Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe.
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.
Steven Madden, Ltd., also known as Steve Madden, is a publicly traded company that designs and markets shoes and fashion accessories. Based in Long Island City, New York, the company's brands include Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo, Greats, BB Dakota and Mad Love. Steve Madden is also a licensee of various brands, including Anne Klein and Superga.
Rothy's is an American direct-to-consumer company which designs and sells shoes and accessories. Rothy's was initially founded in 2012 and launched in 2016 by Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin as a women's shoe company in San Francisco. It has since expanded with handbags and a men's line.
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