Florsheim Shoe

Florsheim Shoes is an American shoe brand. Founded in Chicago in 1892, it is now a subsidiary of Weyco Group, which is owned by members of the founding Florsheim family.

History

Florsheim & Co. was founded in Chicago in 1892 by Milton S. Florsheim.

The company marked its shoes with its own name and assisted stores in promoting them. By 1930, Florsheim was making women's shoes and had five Chicago factories and 2,500 employees, with 71 stores partly or entirely company-owned and 9,000 stores around the US selling Florsheims.

Milton Florsheim died in 1936 and was succeeded by his son Irving. In 1946, his younger son Harold became president with Irving Florsheim becoming chairman.

In 1953, International Shoe Company, the world's largest shoe maker, bought Florsheim for $21 million. Three years later, Florsheim became a division, continuing to operate as a separate entity. During its first ten years, Florsheim was International Shoe's most important unit, doubling its sales and accounting for a quarter of the parent company's sales, as well as more than double that fraction of earnings. Florsheim had 70% of high-quality men's shoes and succeeded when its parent company was struggling.

Florsheim eventually sold women's shoes through Thayer-McNeil stores, also owned by International Shoe (by this time called Interco).

In the 1980s Florsheim began selling athletic shoes, and Interco's shoe division became part of Florsheim.

In 1991, Interco declared bankruptcy but kept Florsheim until the company exited the shoe business in 1994. Florsheim became a separate company. In 1996 it changed its name to Florsheim Shoe Group.

Until the mid-1990s, Florsheim had stores in many US malls. With the rise of such shoe stores as Journeys and Finish Line, Inc., and the de-emphasis of shoe stores in American malls, most Florsheim stores closed by the early 2000s. This followed the fate of other companies such as Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn and Butler Shoes. Butler Shoes became Butler Group owned by Zale Corporation. Butler Group closed in 1990.

In 2002, two members of the founding family, Thomas W. Florsheim, Jr. and John W. Florsheim of Weyco Group, based in Glendale, Wisconsin, repurchased the brand for $47 million from Florsheim Group.

Notable people

Michael Jackson wore Florsheim Shoes for dancing. He wore the models Como, Como Imperial, and Berkley, and had leather heels installed.

Gallery

File:Florsheim.store.Aventura.Florida.2021.jpg, Store in Aventura, Florida, 2021
File:HK Quarry Bay 太古城中心 CityPlaza mall shop Florsheim shoes July 2021 SS2 10.jpg, Store in Cityplaza mall in Hong Kong, 2021
File:Florsheim Shoes Dadeland Mall Florida 2023.jpg, Store in Dadeland Mall in Kendall, Florida, 2023
File:Florsheim Loafers.jpg, Loafers from Florsheim Shoes, 2021

See also

* Florsheim Shoe Company Building in Chicago

References

External links

{{Commons category
Florsheim corporate siteWeyco Group corporate siteFlorsheim Australia site

Shoe companies of the United States
American companies established in 1892
Clothing companies established in 1892
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991
1892 establishments in Illinois
Glendale, Wisconsin
Companies based in Wisconsin