Brown Shoe Company, Inc.has finalized the sale of And 1 to Galaxy International, a newly-formed brand management company, for $55 million in cash. Brown Shoe Company plans to use the proceeds from the sale of And 1 to pay down debt.
And 1, a global men's performance basketball and lifestyle brand, was part of the American Sporting Goods (ASG) acquisition that Brown Shoe Company completed on Feb. 17, 2011, for $145 million in cash plus assumed debt. The ASG acquisition helped broaden the company's reach by complementing its fitness and comfort offerings with athletic and outdoor brands, including Avia, Ryka and Nevados.
In addition to this previously announced divestiture, the company continues to shift resources to grow its brands within the three macro-consumer platforms of Family, Healthy Living and Contemporary Fashion. These efforts will help accelerate Brown Shoe Company's portfolio evolution, by exiting underperforming businesses not aligned with its strategic goals and financial criteria.
“As promised, this next phase of our portfolio realignment has been designed to help us in our efforts to assure the improvement in long-term shareholder returns,” said Diane Sullivan, president and CEO of Brown Shoe Company. “However, our work to align our organization for success is still underway, as we continue to evaluate our remaining businesses.”
Brown Shoe Company's Retail division operates Famous Footwear and the Naturalizer shoe chain. Through its wholesale divisions, Brown Shoe Company designs and markets leading fashion and athletic footwear brands including Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's, LifeStride, Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, Via Spiga, Etienne Aigner, Vera Wang Lavender, Avia, ryka and Buster Brown.
