Footwear

Footwear · Work Boots

American work boot brand.

Wolverine World Wide →

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

American athletic footwear. Boston, Massachusetts. The counterexample the running shoes essay leans on: still owns and expands US factories.

Footwear · Running Shoes,Sneakers

Swiss-engineered running shoes. Distinctive CloudTec hollow-pod outsole. Founded by retired professional triathlete and two design-and-marketing co-founders. Zurich, Switzerland.

On Holding AG (NYSE: ONON) →

Footwear · Hiking Boots,Running Shoes

Technical outdoor footwear (trail running, hiking, ski boots), ski bindings, outdoor apparel, and packs. The XT-6 trail runner crossed into mainstream gorpcore fashion in 2023, expanding the brand well beyond its alpinist and trail-running base.

Amer Sports (NYSE: AS) - Anta Sports-led consortium →

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

The largest athletic footwear company in the world. Beaverton, Oregon. Began as a distributor of Japanese running shoes — contract manufacturing was the founding model, not a departure from one.

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

The second-largest athletic footwear company in the world. Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Footwear · Running Shoes

Maximal-cushion running shoes. Founded 2009 in Annecy, France by Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud (both ex-Salomon). The fastest-growing brand in running.

Deckers Brands (NYSE: DECK) →

Footwear · Running Shoes

Running-only brand since 2001. Seattle. Made the Villanova (1974-75), the first EVA-midsole running shoe — the hinge of the running shoes essay.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) →

Footwear · Running Shoes,Sneakers

Japanese running brand, Kobe. The runner's-runner label of the majors.

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

Herzogenaurach, Germany — the other Dassler brother. Sportstyle-leaning of the German pair.

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

Baltimore performance-apparel company that added footwear. Running is a side business next to the apparel core.

Footwear · Running Shoes

Zero-drop, wide-toe-box running shoes. Founded in Logan, Utah by Golden Harper and Brian Beckstead; brand roots 2009, incorporated 2011 under ICON Health & Fitness.

VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) →

Footwear · Running Shoes,Sneakers

One of the oldest names in American running — founded 1898 in Kutztown, PA, named for Saucony Creek. The name has outlived every structure that ever stood behind it.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW) →

Footwear · Sneakers,Running Shoes

Volume comfort-footwear giant, Manhattan Beach, CA. Third-largest athletic footwear company in the world by revenue at the time it went private.

3G Capital →

Footwear · Running Shoes

Osaka sporting-goods maker since 1906. The quiet one: no super-shoe marketing arms race, a durability reputation among high-mileage runners, and factories with its own name on them.

Footwear · Running Shoes

Minimalist zero-drop running shoes (10mm polyurethane midsole/outsole, wide toe box), $225-$235 a pair. One of the last people in America making running shoes in a building he controls.

Footwear · Casual Shoes,Running Shoes

Oregon workshop shoemaker since the 1980s — moccasins, barefoot shoes, and the RunAmoc running line, all made in-house in the USA.

Footwear · Running Shoes

The last custom running shoemaker in America. A Hersey DPS made Runner's World rankings in the 1980s-90s. Racing flats to trail models, built for one runner at a time.

Footwear · Running Shoes

Trail-running brand founded 2022 by Kilian Jornet with Camper (the Fluxà family, Mallorca). Durability-first. The Kboix 01 ($240, ISPO Award 2024) has three interchangeable midsoles — the replaceable part is finally the part that dies.

Footwear · Work Boots

American handmade work boots. Spokane, Washington.

Footwear · Hiking Boots

Outdoor footwear. Portland, Oregon.

Footwear · Heritage Boots

British boot manufacturer. Same Northamptonshire factory that made Dr. Martens before Docs moved production overseas.

Footwear · Work Boots

Australian-made work boots. Supplier to the Australian Defence Force since 1998. The Cloros family has made boots since 1927.

Ares Management Corporation →

Footwear · Heritage Boots

Iconic British footwear brand. Famous for the 1460 and 1461 air-cushioned boots first produced at Cobbs Lane factory in Wollaston, Northamptonshire.

Dr. Martens plc (LSE: DOCS) →

Footwear · Rubber Boots

Originally a Scottish manufacturer of rubber Wellington boots founded in Edinburgh in 1856, evolved into a heritage outdoor and lifestyle brand. Best known for the Original Tall Wellington.

Authentic Brands Group →

Footwear · Hiking Boots

Sneakerboot category — hybrid of sneaker comfort and hiking-boot ruggedness. Best-known model is the Phil Mid. Boston, Massachusetts.

Weyco Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEYS) →

Footwear · Sneakers

Italian performance sportswear and footwear brand known historically for tennis (Navratilova, Becker), soccer (the Stadio boot debuted at the 1990 World Cup), volleyball, and basketball.

WHP Global (global trademarks); Lotto Sport Italia S.p.A. operates Italy/Europe/MEA →

Footwear · Dress Shoes

Italian luxury footwear brand. Founded in Bologna by siblings Marino, Mario, and Bruno Magli, the brand became synonymous with Italian dress shoe craftsmanship in the mid-20th century and was a celebrity favorite from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe through later decades.

Marquee Brands (Neuberger Berman Private Equity) →

Footwear · Heritage Boots

American heritage work boots. Red Wing, Minnesota.

Footwear · Work Boots

Handmade work boots. Spokane, Washington.

Footwear · Work Boots

American handmade work boots. Spokane, Washington.

ABC-Mart (Japan) via acquisition chain →

Footwear · Heritage Boots

Canadian handmade heritage boots. Victoria, British Columbia.

Footwear · Dress Shoes

American dress shoes. Middleborough, Massachusetts.

Footwear · Dress Shoes

American dress shoes. Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Caleres →

Footwear · Heritage Boots

American handmade moccasins and boots. Berlin, Wisconsin.

Footwear · Work Boots

American outdoor and work boots. Portland, Oregon.

LaCrosse Footwear (subsidiary of ABC-Mart Japan) →

Footwear · Hiking Boots

Hiking and outdoor footwear.

Wolverine World Wide →

Footwear · Sandals

Outdoor adventure sandals.

Wolverine World Wide →

Footwear · Heritage Boots

American heritage work and fashion boots.

VF Corporation →

Footwear · Sandals

German cork-footbed sandals.

Public; L Catterton retains meaningful stake →

Footwear · Casual Shoes

Direct-to-consumer leather boots. New York.

Footwear · Casual Shoes

Australian pull-on boots. Tasmania-headquartered.

Footwear · Heritage Boots

Historic American boot brand.

Bluestar Alliance →

Footwear · Casual Shoes

British casual shoe brand. Desert Boot, Wallabee.

LionRock Capital →

Footwear · Sneakers

Skate footwear and apparel.

Authentic Brands Group (via Boardriders) →

Footwear · Sneakers

American skate shoe brand, originally from Anaheim, California.

VF Corporation →