subsidiary industry apparel predecessor william j. dudley shoe company the james johnston company founded newark nj united states 1850 1850 founder william j. dudley james johnston william a. murphy headquarters nashville tn united states number of locations 168 area served united states & 91 foreign countries products shoes apparel leather goods luggage revenue us 245 941 000 fiscal year ending 2014 operating income us 17 638 000 fiscal year ending 2014 total assets us 97 532 000 parent genesco divisions retail operations wholesale website www.johnstonmurphy.com footnotes references 1 2 johnston & murphy is a u.s. based footwear and clothing company . a wholly owned subsidiary of genesco inc. and based in nashville tennessee johnston & murphy designs sources markets and distributes footwear apparel leather goods and luggage . 1 3 the johnston & murphy group is divided into two operating divisions retail operations and wholesale . 4 the retail operations division sells johnston & murphy branded products for men and women to customers in the united states and 92 foreign countries via the johnstonmurphy.com website and sells products to customers in the united states via direct mail catalogs and 168 company owned retail shops located in malls and airports and company owned factory stores located in outlet malls . 2 the wholesale division distributes footwear products to more than 2100 department stores and independent specialty shops located in the united states and 15 foreign countries . contents 1 history 2 today 3 references 4 external links history edit johnston & murphy traces its roots to the william j. dudley shoe company founded in 1850 in newark new jersey by william j. dudley a european immigrant and master craftsman who had been schooled in the classic tradition of english shoemaking . 5 the william j. dudley shoe company specialized in quality highly durable work shoes for men women and children . during its first 25 years the company s growth forced five moves to increasingly larger locations . in 1880 newark businessman james johnston joined the company as dudley s partner . johnston s vision was to expand product lines and distribution channels . the company took the durability of its work shoes and built that into a line of higher fashion footwear which quickly became popular . in 1881 founder william dudley died and johnston assumed control of the company under a new name the james johnston company . in 1884 william a. murphy another prominent newark businessman from a distinguished family was intrigued by the success of johnston s local shoe company . a partnership was formed and the company became known as johnston & murphy . in 1895 murphy sold his interest in the company to herbert p. gleason a former top salesman of the company . gleason knew the value of a recognized brand name and decided to keep the johnston & murphy name as well as establish a national sales and marketing force . in the 1920s gleason s son george gleason coined the company s first slogan the best shoes anybody can buy . he also developed a series of handsome lifestyle advertisements and ran campaigns in high profile magazines such as vanity fair and the saturday evening post . ads featured the country club series a line of golf shoes which became one of johnston & murphy s most popular . genesco then general shoe corporation purchased johnston & murphy in 1951 . genesco closed johnston & murphy s newark new jersey location and moved the operations to genesco s headquarters city of nashville tennessee . in 1971 johnston & murphy opened its first retail shop in schaumburg illinois . johnston & murphy then expanded its retail operations in specialty shops and department stores nationwide and in 1983 the company opened the first johnston & murphy factory store in clearwater florida . in the 80s johnston & murphy also launched its direct mail catalog featuring men s footwear . in 1996 johnston & murphy started opening stores in busy airports train stations and on prominent streets to better reach professional men on the go . 1 today edit in 1996 johnston & murphy launched its official website . in 1998 johnston & murphy opened a flagship on the corner of madison and 54th street in new york city and started signing licensing agreements for collections of belts hosiery shoe care products leather outerwear and small leather goods . 1 the company has since expanded the men s line to include business cases and luggage . johnston & murphy introduced a new line of women s footwear leather goods accessories and outerwear in the fall of 2008 . 6 johnston & murphy s retail operations division operates 160 company owned stores and sells products via direct mail catalogs and via the company s web site . the wholesale division sells johnston & murphy branded shoes to more than 2 100 premier department and specialty stores direct mail and on its web site . 7 8 johnston & murphy branded products are manufactured by independent third party contractors . 9 in november 2010 to highlight a new line of johnston & murphy men s comfort shoes the xc4 collection the brand asked consumers by way of juxtaposition for their most uncomfortable moments in their online ultimate comfort contest . the letters in xc4 are meant to stand for extreme comfort while the number alludes to four aspects of the shoes they are moisture wicking light weight have additional cushioning and include an extra removable insole to ensure proper fit . xc4 styles are available in dress casual and casual styles representative of johnston & murphy s shift to offering more casual footwear in addition to traditional dress shoes . 10 horween leather company in chicago supplies leather shells for footwear to johnston & murphy . 11 12 13 references edit a b c d johnstonmurphy.com 2010 p. about history.aspx . a b genesco annual report 2010 p. 30 . genesco annual report 2010 p. 47 . genesco annual report 2010 p. 20 21 . newman adam andrew december 22 2010 . collecting humiliations of life to sell comfort in shoes . the new york times . nashville business journal 2008 08 15 . genesco about genesco . genesco.com . genesco inc. 2010 . archived from the original on october 4 2010 . retrieved october 4 2010 . genesco annual report . genesco annual report . genesco inc. 2014 . archived from the original pdf on may 8 2014 . retrieved may 8 2014 . genesco.com 2010 p. about genesco . newman 2010 12 20 . a brief history horween leather company . horween.com . retrieved march 28 2013 . horween leather company . encyclopedia.com . retrieved march 26 2013 . horween s leather bound by tradition . chicago tribune . october 27 2003 . retrieved march 27 2013 . johnston & murphy about j & m history . johnstonmurphy.com . genesco inc. 2010 . archived from the original on october 4 2010 . retrieved october 4 2010 . johnston & murphy store locator international orders locations . johnstonmurphy.com . genesco inc. 2010 . archived from the original on october 4 2010 . retrieved october 4 2010 . johnston & murphy bringing luggage leather line in house . nashville business journal . american city business journals inc. march 9 2007 . archived from the original on october 4 2010 . retrieved october 4 2010 . johnston & murphy launches women s footwear line . nashville business journal . american city business journals inc. august 15 2008 . archived from the original on october 4 2010 . retrieved october 4 2010 . external links edit johnston & murphy genesco inc. shoes of the presidents xc4 collection and ultimate comfort contest retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title johnston % 26 murphy & oldid 726813987 categories shoe brandsshoe companies of the united statesamerican brandsclothing brands of the united statesclothing retailers of the united statescompanies based in nashville tennesseecompanies established in 1850hidden categories use mdy dates from october 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged 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