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When Matt Serra first joined Foot Locker, Inc. in October, 1998 as president and CEO of Foot Locker Worldwide, the athletic footwear industry and the company were not on solid [...]

IN BRIEF Collective's Name Change Collective Brands Inc. said last week that the brands formerly housed under Stride Rite Corp. which include Sperry Top-Sider, Saucony, Keds and Stride Rite Children's [...]

Funky Town Milwaukee's artsy Third Ward is a fitting complement to Shoo's unique comfort mix. When Kate Blake was laid off from her sales job at Diesel footwear in 2005, [...]

Actress Selena Gomez is leaving her tomboy past behind and embracing her girly side. Selena Gomez's star is on the rise. The 'Tell Me Something I Don't Know' singer has [...]

Got tips? Email jennifer_beaudry@condenast.com or wayne_niemi@ condenast.com Check It Out Doug Palladini said the only thing that surprised him when it came to writing a book about Vans was that [...]

Zappos.com knows how to treat its vendors. With its headquarters just a stone's throw from Las Vegas, the location couldn't be more perfect for a party. In the past few [...]

A decade of stats, facts and interesting tidbits. Zappos.com has more than 10 million customers. The longest customer service call lasted about 4 hours. CEO Tony Hsieh receives about 2,000 [...]

At Zappos, customer service is the first priority no matter the cost. When explaining Zappos.com's almost-obsessive dedication to customer service, the e-tailers' employees always seem to turn to real-life tales. [...]

French designer Guillaume Hinfray and his partner, Marco Censi, reveal the inspiration for their spring '10 collection. As I enter the rustic Gottino wine bar on Greenwich Avenue to meet [...]

Growing Fit Beauty veteran Marcia Kilgore is determined to make FitFlop a global footwear brand with an aggressive distribution strategy, new product launches and unconventional marketing. LONDON Marcia Kilgore transformed [...]

Independent Spotlight : The Wallace family has taken Active Ride Shop from one location to 29 and they're still dreaming big. NEW YORK Twenty years ago, Active Ride Shop opened [...]

Got tips? Email jennifer_beaudry@condenast.com or wayne_niemi@ condenast.com The Parent Trap Michael Jordan has big plans for his namesake brand. Making a surprise appearance at a press conference in New York [...]

NEW YORK -- The economy may be tanking and the athletic sector may be challenging, but Todd Kirssin, footwear merchandise manager for Downtown Locker Room, is still confident about business. [...]

With its friendly service and nostalgic feel, Bradshaw's has won over Washington, D.C.-area parents. On the front wall of Bradshaw's Children's Shoes in Arlington, Va., a sign marks the store [...]

Got tips? Email jennifer_ernst@condenast.com or wayne_niemi@ condenast.com Man of the Hour Insider caught up with Manolo Blahnik recently when the iconic designer made a rare visit to Los Angeles to [...]

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Michael and Allyson Ciccia have made comfort a footwear habit. Whenever Allyson Ciccia traveled to Italy to visit family, she returned home with her suitcase packed with an [...]

Name: Douglas Fir Feet Address: 8318 W. Third St., Los Angeles Square footage: 800 Established: March 2007 Owners: Tino Abarca and Jon Noble Footwear brands: Belstaff, Christian Peau, Esquivel, J [...]

When Whoopi Goldberg walked into Jump's New York flagship store soon after it opened in Soho last fall, the brand suddenly found itself in the footwear spotlight. The talk show [...]

Blog It, Baby Kenneth Cole is a busy man, but he's taking on a new project: Awearnessblog.com, which goes live today. 'I did not need this,' the designer told Insider [...]

NEW YORK - Footwear players at last week's three-day Sole Commerce show here acknowledged that a weak footwear environment, coupled with a general slowdown in consumer spending, is prompting retailers [...]

Name: Boutique 1 Address: The Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Square footage: 10,000 Established: October 2003 Owner: Sifico Fashion LLC Footwear brands: Azzedine Alaa, Castaer, Dr. [...]

At children's firm Trimfoot Co., it's all about carving a niche. Much of the 94-year-old company's long-term success has come from specializing in small market segments, including school uniform shoes, [...]

High-end designs and casual styles share the floor at L.A.'s new boutique, Parisa & Co. Name: Parisa & Co. Address: 7354 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles Square footage: 700 Established: June [...]

Footwear execs are banking on the past. To preserve hit styles and tout storied corporate histories, many brands are spending big bucks on their archives. While the process can be [...]

Classic Cool: Keds went high style during New York Fashion Week. Both new and old versions of its classic sneakers hit the runways of Lyn Devon (at left), Adam Lippes [...]

Name: Poco Pattino Address: 3830 West Neptune St., Tampa, Fla. Square footage: 1,200 Established: February 2005 Owner: Leigh Peters Footwear brands: Aster, Bear Feet, Franco Sarto, Geox, Lelli Kelly, Mod [...]

Name: Mona Moore Address: 1446 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal Square footage: 1,600 Established: Fall 2002 Owners: Anna Maria Varriano, Lisa Bush and Scott Vineberg Footwear brands: Ann Demeulemeester, Azzedine Alaa, [...]

NEW YORK - More footwear companies are putting their design teams on the fashion front lines. In recent months, a number of major firms have committed to expansive designer centers [...]

They shop to live and live to shop - for shoes. Unmoved by swings in the economy, rising gas prices, the downturn of the housing market or the whims of [...]

NEW YORK - Payless ShoeSource is adding yet another bold-face name to its designer line up. The Topeka, Kan.-based retailer is expected to announce today a partnership with Alice+ Olivia [...]

NEW YORK - The Fashion Footwear Association of New York will open its June show tomorrow with an expanded exhibitor lineup, and the organization has also unveiled a major change [...]

J-41 has finally found its sweet spot. Since it first launched in 2001 under the Jeep label, licensed from automaker DaimlerChrysler, the brand has undergone a series of name and [...]

There's an ancient Hebrew saying: 'Save one life, and it's as if you've saved the world.' For Jodi Fisher, co-founder of FFANY Shoes on Sale, those words couldn't ring truer. [...]

For apparel sellers afraid to step into the shoe business, there are ways to minimize the risks. One option is to partner with an outside expert like Santa Clarita, Calif.-based [...]

Name: Sockshop and Shoe Co. Location: 1515 Pacific Ave. Santa Cruz, Calif. Established: April 1988; current location opened March 2005 Owners: Ellen and Eric Gil Square footage: 7,000 Footwear brands: [...]

Name: Divinitas Designs Location: 156 Avenue Rd., Toronto Established: 2003 Owner: Alecia Guevara Square footage: 650 Footwear brands: Her own designs Maybe it's no surprise that a descendant of Latin [...]

Surely you heard about 'Flip-Flop Gate' last week: Several members of the national-champion Northwestern University women's lacrosse team wore flip-flop sandals during a reception with President Bush at the White [...]

A Boots store hosting twice-weekly smoking cessation clinics for the local PCT has helped more than 1,000 people to quit. The Birmingham High Street branch agreed to pilot the `drop [...]

NEW YORK -- Lower the price, but increase the perceived value. The idea seems so simple, it's no wonder so many brands have tried their hand at the accessible-luxury category. [...]

At the start of its 30th year, Foot Locker was riding high: Annual sales had reached $4.8 billion, the retailer's relationship with Nike was back on track and the competition [...]

Name: Scarpe Location: 135 North Michigan St., Toledo, Ohio Square footage: 2,000 Established: March 2003 Owners: Meg and Deborah Monagan, Jeff Kimble Footwear brands: Stuart Weitzman, Donald J Pliner, Fornarina, [...]

Far South of the Border Footwear and accessories designer Roxanne Eklund, president of Allentown, Pa.-based ITEO, headed to the south of Mexico to create a collection of women's slippers, boots [...]

Name: Slope Sports Location: 70 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Square Footage: 500 Established: January 2004 Owner: Kirsten Marino (above) Footwear Brands: ASICS, Brooks, New Balance, Pearl Izumi, Saucony Residents of [...]

When it comes to quality children's shoes in London, much of the market is dominated by department stores such as Selfridges, John Lewis and Harrods -- all of which offer [...]

NEW YORK -- Bring it on. Hot on the heels of an incredible spring selling season, footwear retailers are hoping to extend the sales momentum as they eagerly await fall's [...]

Herbert Hainer, CEO, Adidas-Salomon: 'We have enjoyed a very long-standing partnership with Foot Locker, both in the U.S. and around the world, sharing common values driven by a strong sense [...]

It's all about reaching out. Whether donating new shoes to school children or funding programs to keep kids involved in school sports, Foot Locker has long been dedicated to helping [...]

The surprises, the pitfalls, the successes -- nothing beats that first year of operating a new retail business. Freshly minted independents in this economy have their work cut out for [...]

AT Star Shoes, a trendy Hollywood shoe retailer, you can get a pair of sling-back sandals or order a Singapore sling. The 1950s-style store, at 6364 Hollywood Blvd., offers a [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tough as it was, the Great Recession paled in comparison to the Great Depression, when Stout's Footwear Co. dosed three stores, Last year, the family-owned shoe retailer saw [...]