LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. is an American company based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Founded in 1897 in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

, the footwear company moved to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in 2001 where its Danner Boots subsidiary was based. In 2012, the company, which previously had been publicly traded, was bought by Japanese-based ABC-Mart. The company manufactures boots and other footwear primarily for use in agriculture, hunting, construction, and the outdoors. Other products include rubber boots for farm and hunting, all manufactured in Asia.

History

LaCrosse was established in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in 1897 as the La Crosse Rubber Mill in the city of La Crosse. The company became the largest employer in that city in 1930. In 1994, the company acquired Portland, Oregon-based Danner Boots in a merger that was expected to create a company with an annual revenue of $100 million. A month later the company announced plans for an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

(IPO) worth up to $24 million in order to help purchase Danner. At the time, LaCrosse had annual sales of $82 million. The IPO went ahead in April 1994, raising nearly $18 million with a stock symbol of BOOT. LaCrosse bought footwear maker Lake of the Woods in June 1997 for $6.5 million. Company revenues had grown to $138 million for fiscal year 2000. The company closed its US-based manufacturing for the namesake brand in July 2001, and later that year moved its headquarters to Portland in order to consolidate operations and take advantage of the concentration of shoe companies in the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

. Later that year, it also reported the first quarterly profit since 1999. In 2010, LaCrosse opened a new factory in Portland for its Danner brand, which helped it earn a contract with the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

in September 2011 for making boots for the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

. In July 2012, ABC-Mart (Japanese: エービーシー・マート) purchased LaCrosse for $20 per share. ABC-Mart, a

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

-based retailer, had approximately 800 stores in Japan,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. LaCrosse hoped to use those distribution channels to expand their brand in Japan where the company's American made boots were popular. At the time of the announcement, LaCrosse had 300 employees in Portland, and no layoffs were expected. The deal was finalized in August, with LaCrosse then becoming a private subsidiary of ABC-Mart/Japan. President and CEO Joseph Schneider then left the company in September 2012.

References

External links

LaCrosse FootwearDanner Boots
{{FormerORCompanies Manufacturing companies based in Portland, Oregon Shoe companies of the United States Footwear retailers Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Clothing companies established in 1897 La Crosse, Wisconsin 1897 establishments in Wisconsin 1994 mergers and acquisitions 1994 initial public offerings 2012 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies