The Melville Corporation started another chain of shoe stores in the 1980s called FanClub. Meldisco also had a scattering of locations overseas, from Mexico and Puerto Rico to Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Over 95 percent of Meldisco's outlets were located in Kmart stores, though a few were in grocery stores and drugstores. By the early 1980s, Meldisco had become one of the largest shoe retailers in the United States, with annual sales topping the $1 billion mark in 1985. Years of steady growth followed, as both Meldisco and the Michigan-based Kmart expanded. Its first Kmart-based outlet, in Greenville, North Carolina, was opened a year later, and in 1962 Meldisco signed an agreement to act as Kmart's exclusive shoe retailer. In 1960, Miles established a division called Meldisco, whose name was a contraction of 'Melville Discount Corporation.' Meldisco did not have its own stores, but rather leased space to sell its shoes in department or other large stores. The year 1952 saw the acquisition of another shoe retailer, Miles Shoes. In 1922, the Thom McAn chain of stores was purchased by Melville, becoming the company's first retail division. Having combined distribution operations since the spinoff, and with plans to acquire a third, complementary shoe retailer, Footstar appears likely to maintain its position as one of the largest shoe retailing companies in the United States.įootstar's history could be said to begin in 1893, with the founding in New Jersey of the Melville Corporation, a shoe manufacturer. Together, these chains cover much of the spectrum of the retail shoe market, which tends to favor either the low or high ends of the price range. Meldisco, operator of over 2,500 discount shoe outlets, primarily in leased space in Kmart stores, has been the backbone of Footstar's business, generating about twice the annual revenue of Footaction, though growth has been slower.

Since Footstar was created as a spinoff of the Melville Corporation in 1996, Footaction, a mall-based chain of over 550 athletic shoe stores, has shown strong sales growth, with significant numbers of new stores added each year. SICs:: 5661 Shoe Stores, Retail 6719 Holding Companies, Not Elsewhere Classified 5699 Miscellaneous Apparel & Accessory Storesįrom toddlers to teenagers, construction workers to working moms, Footstar fits! Through our two businesses-Footaction and Meldisco-we deliver footwear fashion, quality and value to people in all walks of life, every day.įootstar, Incorporated is a holding company whose two subsidiaries, Footaction and Meldisco, are leading shoe retailers of their types.

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