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Genesco Inc. is an American publicly owned specialty retailer and wholesaler of branded and licensed footwear and accessories. Its brands include Dockers, Johnston & Murphy, Journeys, and Schuh.

The company was founded in 1924 as Jarman Shoe Company, and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Company history

Aerial image of the General Shoe Corporation in 1939.

James Franklin Jarman, J.H. Lawson and William Hatch Wemyss, all former salesmen for Carter Shoe Co. in Nashville, founded Jarman Shoe Company in 1924 as a footwear manufacturer.[2] The company grew rapidly and took the name General Shoe Corporation in 1933, and its initial public stock offering took place in 1939.[citation needed]

By the 1950s, General Shoe had factories in many southern towns, especially in Genesco’s home state of Tennessee. The company assumed its current name, Genesco, in 1959, two years after it was chosen as one of the stocks in the first S&P 500 Index.[3] Earlier strictly a manufacturer of footwear, W. Maxey Jarman, the ambitious son of co-founder J.F. Jarman, led the company to slowly diversify, especially as more of the manufacturing was being conducted overseas;[citation needed] as well, it entered into fields such as sports—at one-time manufacturing and selling football (soccer) balls—and retail ownership, including the New York department store Bonwit Teller and the five-and-dime store S. H. Kress & Co.[citation needed]

In 1973, directors of Genesco, who had oveseen W. Maxey Jarmen’s subsequent naming of his son (J.F. Jarman’s grandson), Franklin M. Jarman, as board chairman, then “quelled a dispute within the family at its top management” and elected the younger Jarman, then 42‐years‐old, to the further position of company CEO, essentially replacing his father.[4] By 1977, Genesco would go on to add ownership of Henri Bendel and Flagg Bros. shoe stores,[5] to its Jarman’s Shoes and Bonwit Teller.[6] On January 2, 1977, the ten sitting directors of Genesco voted unanimously to oust the young Franklin M. Jarman from his positions of president and chief executive officer, retaining him as board chairman, but only with duties and authority as allowed him by the interim CEO, William M. Blackie,[7] with a committee of the board tasked with identifying a permanent CEO.[6][needs update]

The company suffered from over-diversification at one point, and the ongoing manufacturing operations in the southern United States continued to depress results for a long period of time.[citation needed]

In February 2002, Genesco Chief Executive Ben Harris, noting that “[s]ales of welted shoes ha[d] fallen as consumers… adopted more casual attire”‘, said that demand for that product “ha[d] reached a level at which it can be better satisfied from other sources”, and—despite previous year company statements “sternly reject[ing]” closure of the Johnston & Murphy, Nashville, Tennessee plant[8]—and announced a layoff of 40 workers, and closure of the plant.[9] Hence, Genesco exited the business of U.S.-based shoe manufacturing in 2002, and in that year began contracting with independent, third parties located offshore, to manufacture its branded and licensed footwear.[1][better source needed][verification needed]

In June 2011, Genesco acquired U.K. retail chain and web business Schuh.[10]

Brands

The following is a list of some brands and retailers owned or licensed by Genesco as of 2006:

  • Johnston & Murphy – Retailer of men’s and women’s footwear, apparel, luggage and leather goods sold in Genesco-owned Johnston & Murphy retail stores, and wholesaler of footwear to department and specialty stores.[11]
  • Dockers Footwear – Casual footwear marketed with the Dockers brand licensed from Levi Strauss & Co. and sold at wholesale to department and specialty stores[12]
  • Journeys – Retailer of footwear for teens and young adults.[13][independent source needed] The first Journeys retail store was opened at the Rivergate Mall in Nashville, Tennessee by Genesco in December 1986.[14]
  • Journeys Kidz – Retailer of footwear for children, where many of the Journeys brands and styles can be found in smaller sizes in the Journeys Kidz stores.[15][independent source needed]
  • Schuh – U.K. retailer of footwear and other branded items, acquired by Genesco in June 2011.[10]
  • Little Burgundy – Montreal, Canada-based footwear retailer for trendy teens and young adults, acquired by Genesco in 2015.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Genesco Staff (March 22, 2023). “Form 10-K”. Nashville, TN: Genesco. Retrieved November 25, 2023.[non-primary source needed]
  2. ^ Wood, E. Thomas (July 20, 2007). “Nashville Now and Then: A Voice From Our Past”. NashvillePost.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  3. ^ Duncan, Walker (April 20, 2007). “Foot Locker Makes $1.2 Billion Offer for Genesco”. NashvillePost.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  4. ^ Barmash, Isadore (February 28, 1973). “Genesca Family Dispute Quelled”. The New York Times. p. 53. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Lauderdale, Vance (April 10, 2024). “Ask Vance: Flagg Bros. Shoes”. Memphis magazine. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Jones, William H. (January 3, 1977). “Jarman Ousted”. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  7. ^ Blackie was a 4-decade veteran of Genesco, and was a director emeritus at the time of his elevation. See Barmash, NYT, op. cit.
  8. ^ Per its description in the Nashville Post, that plant was “sentimentally viewed as the last vestige of the company’s storied past in American-made, hand-made footwear”, see Nashville Post Staff, February 1, 2002, op. cit.
  9. ^ Nashville Post Staff (February 1, 2002). “Genesco Closing Local Shoe Plant, Firing 40 at Headquarters”. The Nashville Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  10. ^ a b “Genesco steps in to UK with $162 mln Schuh buy”. Reuters. June 23, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  11. ^ Garner, Stephen (March 31, 2025). “Johnston & Murphy Marks 175th Anniversary With Special Campaign, Collection and More”. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  12. ^ Garner, Stephen (May 27, 2025). “Dockers Footwear Marks Next Chapter With New Innovations, More Classifications”. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  13. ^ Genesco Staff (December 24, 2006). “Journeys Shoes”. Genesco Inc. Retrieved December 24, 2006.[independent source needed]
  14. ^ N, F (November 14, 2011). “Journeys Milestone: Biggest Moments”. Footwear News. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Genesco Staff (December 25, 2006). “Journeys Kidz”. Genesco Inc. Retrieved December 25, 2006.[independent source needed]
  16. ^ Young, Vicki M. (November 3, 2015). “Genesco to Acquire Little Burgundy Footwear Chain”. Retrieved April 10, 2026.

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