Footwear Insight

November/December 2018 ~ Footwear Insight • 17 'Disruptive' Vionic Gets Boost from Caleres V ionic has been acquired by Caleres, the parent of the Famous Footwear retail chain, for $360 million. The acquisition is Caleres' third in the last 22 months and adds a 14th label to the St. Louis company's brand portfolio that generated $277.1 million in second quarter revenues. In December, 2016, premium men's brand Allen Edmonds was purchased by Caleres for $255 million. In July it acquired California comfort brand Blowfish Malibu. In Vionic, a San Rafael, CA company co-founded by its CEO Chris Gallagher in 2007, Caleres gains access to a contemporary, comfort footwear brand that is a favorite of Oprah Winfrey (she's worn the brand on the cover of her "O" magazine twice this year). Vionic has generated a compounded annual growth rate of more than 20 percent since 2012. Vionic's trailing 12-month revenues are approximately $180 million with 25 percent produced from e-commerce and eight percent from international, Caleres said in a statement. What the acquisition means for the brand and its retail partners should become clear soon. Caleres was set to offer more details about its latest acquisi- tion during its third quarter earnings call and will host an investor event at Vionic's New York showroom during FFANY Shoe Show in early December. "This brand has already proven to be a disruptive addition to the indus- try, as the dynamic Vionic team has blended proprietary technology with comfort and style," Diane Sullivan, Caleres CEO, president and chairman said in a statement, adding that Caleres will share its extensive infrastructure and expertise in product design, brand development and global sourcing with Vionic. l WHAT'S NEXT? footwearinsight.com "This brand has already proven to be a disruptive addition to the industry." Spring 2019 style from Vionic

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