Hush Puppies agrees distribution partnership

Hush Puppies has announced the formation of an exclusive distribution partnership for its footwear in North America. DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse will become the exclusive in-store distributor of Hush Puppies from 2022 which, the shoemaker says, will help to expand its retail presence throughout the USA and Canada.

“DSW’s strong position as a footwear industry mainstay makes them the ideal retailer to reintroduce our iconic brand to the next generation of Hush Puppies consumers,” said Kate Pinkham, Hush Puppies general manager and vice president. Commenting on the new arrangement, DSW’s chief merchandising officer Jim Weinberg added: “DSW customers have enjoyed Hush Puppies for years, and we are delighted to become the sole physical destination for this iconic brand in North America.”

The Hush Puppies collection of casual suede shoes was launched in 1958 and featured its iconic basset hound branding. According to the company’s website, in the fifties and sixties, black and brown were the only colour options available to footwear purchasers, so Hush Puppies decided to introduce colourful rainbow suedes, to bring ‘a new means of expression to feet all over the world’. In the 1990s, these classic styles were revived, and new, brighter colours were introduced, including ‘Day-Glo Green’ and ‘Pepto Bismol Pink’. Hush Puppies – a division of Wolverine Worldwide – will continue to sell on its own eCommerce site and in international markets, but will exit all other North American wholesale operations on January 1st 2022.

Founded in 1991, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse is a division of Designer Brands Inc – one of North America’s largest designers, producers and retailers of footwear and accessories. DSW operates over 600 stores in the USA and Canada (where it also trades as ‘The Shoe Company’) from which it sells athletic, casual and dress footwear and accessories for women, men and children. The company reportedly has more than 400 million visits to its eCommerce site annually and enjoys the following of 30 million VIP members.

Remarking on the new agreement, Mr Weinberg, stated: “We continue to deliver differentiated products to our customers, and this exciting new partnership between DSW and Wolverine Worldwide is a great opportunity to further build our robust assortment of brands that meet all our customers’ needs.”

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 4 of the September 2021 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

Other articles from this issue »

---