Brown Shoe Co. is considering moving its corporate headquarters out of St. Louis. Brown Shoe hired St. Louis-based Clayco, architectural firm HOK and U.S. Equities Realty of Chicago to lead the development of a new headquarters facility. Among options Brown Shoe is considering is expanding at its current site in Clayton, moving elsewhere within the St. Louis metropolitan area or moving out of state.
“As part of our previously announced strategic earnings enhancement plan, Brown Shoe is continuing to do our due diligence work to assess our real estate needs and the best use of our current real estate portfolio,” the company said in a prepared statement. “We have made no decisions, but we are making progress as we rigorously investigate and assess the options that are best for our customers and employees.”
Brown Shoe's board of directors is expected to decide within the next few weeks whether to stay in the St. Louis area or move to Dallas or Madison, Wis. Famous Footwear is based in Madison.
The footwear marketer and retailer was founded in St. Louis in 1878 and has 12,700 full-time and part-time employees, of which 500 are based at its headquarters in Clayton.
