The G.R. Kinney Company was an American manufacturer and retailer of shoes from until . Its listing on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, symbol KNN, began in March 1923. The shoe concern was started by George Romanta Kinney whose father ran a general store in rural Candor, New York. The father became indebted and George vowed to repay his indebtedness. In 1894, at the age of 28, he had saved enough to purchase a Lester retail outlet in Waverly, New York. Lester Shoe of Binghamton, New York was the predecessor to the

Endicott Johnson Corporation The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company ("E-J") was a prosperous manufacturer of shoes based in New York's Southern Tier, with factories mostly located in the area's Triple Cities of Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott. An estimated 20,000 people ...

. Kinney succeeded by selling affordably priced shoes to working Americans.''Kinney Shoe Corporation webpage, internet article. The business chain numbered 362 stores at the conclusion of 1929, with 44 of these opening in the final year of the decade.

Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foo ...

began as a division of the Kinney Shoe Corporation in 1974.''Kinney Shoe Corporation'', internet article.

Chain and later a subsidiary

Main street, looking South, Henderson, North Carolina (5812026348) (cropped)

Kinney Shoes was the largest family chain shoe retailer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the beginning of 1936, with 335 stores operating nationwide. Although it was selling more shoes at the conclusion of 1936 than in 1929, its dollar volume was 20% to 30% below 1929. On August 31, 1963, the G.R. Kinney Company was sold to F.W. Woolworth. Prior to this it was a subsidiary of the Brown Shoe Company which sold it for $45 million. The firm was renamed the Kinney Shoe Corporation and continued as a fully owned subsidiary of Woolworth. It retained its own eleven member board of directors and an existing panel of corporate officers.

Foot Locker exclusivity

The company continued operating throughout the 1960s and 1970s with divisions named Stylco (1967), Susie Casuals (1968), and Foot Locker (1974). On September 16, 1998, the Venator Group, formerly known as Woolworth, announced that Kinney's 467 shoe stores and 103 Footquarters stores would close. The Foot Locker division, started in 1974, continues to this day, with Venator changing its name in 2001 to Foot Locker. Foot Locker also maintains the trademarks of the Kinney and Woolworth brands.

References

External links

G.R. Kinney Company history
{{Woolworth F. W. Woolworth Company Foot Locker Shoe companies of the United States Shoe brands Footwear retailers of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City American companies established in 1894 Clothing companies established in 1894 Retail companies established in 1894 Retail companies disestablished in 1998 1894 establishments in New York (state) 1998 disestablishments in New York (state) Tioga County, New York

Chain and later a subsidiary

Foot Locker exclusivity

See also

References

External links