View source for Genesco

{{Short description|American footwear importer and retailer manager}}
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{{Infobox company
| name             = Genesco Inc.
| logo             = Genesco logo.svg
| caption          = 
| type             = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as        = {{ubl|{{NYSE|GCO}}}}
| fate             = 
| predecessor      = Jarman Shoe Company; General Shoe Corporation
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|1924}} (as Jarman Shoe Company)
| founders         = {{ubl|James Franklin Jarman|William Hatch Wemyss}}
| defunct          = 
| location_city    = [[Nashville, Tennessee]]
| location_country = U.S.
| locations        = 1,250
| area_served      = Worldwide
| key_people       = {{ubl|Mimi E. Vaughn (President, CEO and Board Chair)|Scott E. Becker (Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary)}}
| industry         = [[Shoes]], [[apparel]]
| products         = [[Footwear]], [[Fashion accessories|accessories]]
| services         = 
| revenue          = {{decrease}} US$2.38 billion (2023)
| operating_income = {{decrease}} US$93.2 million (2023)
| net_income       = {{decrease}} US$71.9 million (2023)
| assets           = {{decrease}} US$1.46 billion (2023)
| equity           = {{increase}} US$607 million (2023)
| num_employees    = {{circa|19,000}} (2023)
| parent           = 
| divisions        = 
| subsid           = {{ubl|[[Dockers (brand)|Dockers]] Footwear|[[Johnston & Murphy]]|[[Journeys (company)|Journeys]]|Journeys Kidz|Little Burgundy{{not verified in body|date = December 2024}}|[[Schuh]]{{not verified in body|date = December 2024}}}}
| homepage         = {{official URL}}
| footnotes        = <ref name="10-K" />
| intl             = 
}}

'''Genesco Inc.''' is an American publicly owned specialty retailer of branded footwear and accessories and is a wholesaler of branded and licensed footwear based in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="j&m"/><ref name="prnewswire"/><ref name="journeys"/><ref name="jk"/>{{better source needed|date = December 2024}} Founded back in 1924 as Jarman Shoe Company, a footwear manufacturer,<ref name="nashpost-jacobs"/> the company changed its name to General Shoe Corporation in 1933,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carey |first1=Bill  |title=Genesco |url=https://www.tnmagazine.org/genesco/ |work=The Tennessee Magazine |publisher=January 1, 2018 |access-date=22 August 2025}}</ref> and became a public company in 1939.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Genesco Inc. |url=https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/genesco-inc-history/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=FundingUniverse |language=en}}</ref> By 1957, its stock would be included in the first [[S&P 500 Index]].<ref name="nashpost-S&P" /> The company took its current name, Genesco—an acronym derived from its earlier name{{not verified in body|date=December 2024}}—in 1959.<ref name="nashpost-S&P" /> Genesco exited the business of U.S.-based footwear manufacturing in 2002 and now contracts with independent, third parties located [[offshoring|offshore]] to manufacture its branded and licensed footwear.{{citation needed|date = December 2024}} In June 2011, Genesco acquired U.K. retail chain and web business [[Schuh]], which gave them an already well-established grounding in a market outside of the U.S.{{not verified in body|date=December 2024}}

==Company history==
{{update | section | reason = the current leadership history stops at 1977 | date = December 2024}}
[[File:General Shoe Company.jpg|thumb|left|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, Tennessee|Nashville]], founded Jarman Shoe Company in 1924 as a footwear manufacturer.<ref name="nashpost-jacobs">{{cite news | author = Wood, E. Thomas  | author-link = E. Thomas Wood | title = Nashville Now and Then: A Voice From Our Past | url = http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/7/20/nashville_now_and_then_20jul07 | publisher = [[NashvillePost.com]] | date = 2007-07-20 | access-date = 2007-07-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184919/http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/7/20/nashville_now_and_then_20jul07 | archive-date = 2007-09-30 | url-status = dead }}
</ref> 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|date = December 2024}}

By the 1950s, General Shoe had factories in many [[southern United States|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.<ref name="nashpost-S&P">{{cite news | author = Duncan, Walker  | title = Foot Locker Makes $1.2 Billion Offer for Genesco | url = http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/4/20/foot_locker_makes_12_billion_offer_for_genesco_ | publisher = [[NashvillePost.com]] | date = 2007-04-20 | access-date = 2007-07-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011424/http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/4/20/foot_locker_makes_12_billion_offer_for_genesco_ | archive-date = 2007-09-28 | url-status = dead }}</ref> 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|date = November 2024}} 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 City|New York]] department store [[Bonwit Teller]] and the [[five-and-dime]] store [[S. H. Kress & Co.]]{{citation needed|date = November 2024}}

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.<ref name=BarmashNYT_FMJceo>{{cite news |author = Barmash, Isadore |title=Genesca Family Dispute Quelled |date=February 28, 1973 | work=[[The New York Times]] | page = 53 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/28/archives/genesco-family-dispute-quelled-franklin-jarman-to-get-added-post-of.html |access-date=2 December 2024 }}</ref> By 1977, Genesco would go on to add ownership of [[Henri Bendel]] and Flagg Bros. shoe stores,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lauderdale |first1=Vance |title=Ask Vance: Flagg Bros. Shoes |url=https://memphismagazine.com/ask-vance/ask-vance-flagg-bros-shoes/ |access-date=28 October 2024 |work=Memphis magazine |date=10 April 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> to its ''Jarman's Shoes'' and [[Bonwit Teller]].<ref name="wapo/jarman-ousted"/> 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,<ref>Blackie was a 4-decade veteran of Genesco, and was a director emeritus at the time of his elevation. See Barmash, ''NYT'', op. cit.</ref> with a committee of the board tasked with identifying a permanent CEO.<ref name="wapo/jarman-ousted">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=William H. |title=Jarman Ousted |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1977/01/04/jarman-ousted/43529602-650f-429e-bddb-d376fdb5b85c/ |access-date=28 October 2024 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 3, 1977 | quote = <!--<small>Six of Genesco's 10 directors requested yesterday's meeting and sought Jarmen's ouster because of the company's lagging profitability. In a meeting that lasted nearly 12 hours, Jarman has replaced by 72-year old William M. Blackie, a director emeritus and former Genesco officer for over 40 years. / Blackie will run the company while a committee of the board searches for a new permanent chief executive. Jarman will continue to hold a title of chairman but will be given only "such duties and such authority as may be given him" by Blackie. / An announcement by Genesco last night said the decision on Jarman was unanimous.</small>--> }}</ref>{{update after|2024|12|2}}

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|date = November 2024}} 

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<ref>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.</ref>—and announced a layoff of 40 workers, and closure of the plant.<ref>{{cite web | author = Nashville Post Staff | date=2002-02-01 |title=Genesco Closing Local Shoe Plant, Firing 40 at Headquarters |work=[[The Nashville Post]] | url=http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2002/2/1/genesco_closing_local_shoe_plant_firing_40_at_headquarters |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329081056/http://nashvillepost.com/news/2002/2/1/genesco_closing_local_shoe_plant_firing_40_at_headquarters |archive-date=2012-03-29 |access-date=2010-10-07 | quote = <!--<small>Genesco Chief Executive Ben Harris said demand for its traditional welted shoe “has reached a level at which it can be better satisfied from other sources.” Sales of welted shoes have fallen as consumers have adopted more casual attire. / Six months ago in a conference call with analysts, Harris was pressed to discuss any thoughts he might have about shuttering the plant. He sternly rejected the proposal to close what many sentimentally viewed as the last vestige of the company’s storied past in American-made, hand-made footwear. </small>-->}}</ref> Hence, Genesco exited the business of U.S.-based shoe manufacturing in 2002, and in that year began contracting with independent, third parties located [[offshoring|offshore]], to manufacture its branded and licensed footwear.<ref name="10-K">{{Cite web |author = Genesco Staff | date=March 22, 2023 |title=Form 10-K |url=https://www.genesco.com/static-files/0610304c-f467-476b-a1e7-281155053219 |access-date=November 25, 2023 |location = Nashville, TN | publisher=Genesco}}{{primary source inline|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{better source needed|date = December 2024}}{{verify source|date = December 2024}}

==Brands==
The following is a list of some brands and retailers{{clarify|date = December 2024}} owned or licensed by Genesco as of 2006:
*[[Johnston & Murphy]] – Retailer of better 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.<ref name="j&m">{{cite web| author = Genesco Staff | date = 2006-12-24 |url = http://www.johnstonmurphy.com/about.aspx| title = About Johnson & Murphy| access-date = 2006-12-24| publisher = Genesco Inc}}{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}
*Dockers Footwear – Casual footwear marketed with the [[Dockers (brand)|Dockers]] brand licensed from [[Levi Strauss & Co.]] and sold at wholesale to department and specialty stores<ref name="prnewswire">{{cite news | author = Genesco Staff | date=2006-10-28 |title=Genesco Comments on Dockers Footwear License Extension |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-28-2004/0002316000&EDATE= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122021/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-28-2004/0002316000&EDATE= |archive-date=2007-09-29 |access-date=2006-12-25 |publisher=PRNewswire}}{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}
*[[Journeys (company)|Journeys]] – Retailer of footwear for teens and young adults.<ref name="journeys">{{cite web| author = Genesco Staff | date = 2006-12-24 |url = http://journeys.com/| title = Journeys Shoes| access-date = 2006-12-24| publisher = Genesco Inc}}{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}} The first Journeys retail store was opened at the Rivergate Mall in Nashville, Tennessee by Genesco in December 1986.{{citation needed|date = December 2024}}
*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.<ref name="jk">{{cite web| author = Genesco Staff | date = 2006-12-25 |url = http://www.journeyskidz.com/index.aspx?source=RANG2006| title = Journeys Kidz| access-date = 2006-12-25| publisher = Genesco Inc}}{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date = December 2024}}
*[[Schuh]] – U.K. retailer of footwear and other branded items, acquired by Genesco in June 2011.{{citation needed|date = December 2024}}
*Little Burgundy – Montreal, Canada-based footwear retailer for trendy teens and young adults, acquired by Genesco in 2015.{{citation needed|date = December 2024}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.genesco.com/}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010735/http://www.nashvillepost.com/news?categories=Genesco%20Inc. News stories about Genesco] from [[NashvillePost.com]]
{{Finance links
| name = Genesco
| symbol = GCO
| reuters = GCO.N
| bloomberg = GCO:US
| sec_cik = GCO
| yahoo = GCO
| google = GCO
}}

{{Nashville companies}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|36|6|47.4|N|86|41|32.2|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genesco}}
[[Category:Genesco| ]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1924]]
[[Category:1924 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Footwear retailers of the United States]]