Famous Footwear is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Brown Shoe Company with its headquarters in Clayton Missouri. Brown Shoe is a publicly traded company listed on the NA... Keep Reading

Famous Footwear is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Brown Shoe Company with its headquarters in Clayton Missouri. Brown Shoe is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol BWS.
Famous Footwear stores are located through the United States and specialize in selling name brand shoes, usually at below the manufacturers' suggested prices. Famous Footwear was established in 1960 and is considered a champion of the establishment of discount shopping malls in America. Famous Footwear is has over 1,125 retail storefronts in operation.
In 1960, opening a single store in Madison Wisconsin named Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet its founder Neil Moldenhauser, with a $10,000 loan began what is today Famous Footwear. Neil's was one of the first factory outlets in the Midwest. They bought closeouts and at the timer were mostly a women's shoe store. This was a new concept in the market, with most shoppers buying from department stores and specialty stores. The market was very open to discount products, which enabled a very fast expansion program.
The name "Famous Footwear" was adopted in 1964 when a second store was opened in Cedar Rapids Iowa. By the end of the 1960's there were eight Famous Footwear and Neil's Factory Shoe Outlet stores in operation, with a combined revenue of $1 million. By 1974 all 15 stores were renamed to Famous Footwear.
In 2010, Famous Footwear had 1,126 retail stores in operation. There were discussions that the company had planned to close about 200 underperforming stores by year's end of 2012. The company is said to have over 800 different brands for sale in its stores.
In late 2010 there were plans to open a five-store test of an concept called Mind Body Soul, with an emphasis on footwear related to fitness. The test stores will be in Denver, Tulsa, Orlando and Palm Beach Florida, and Burlington Massachusetts.