Rack Room Shoes

Rack Room Shoes is an American footwear retailer based in North Carolina.

Rack Room Shoes store in Valdosta, Georgia

The company was founded in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1920 by Phil Levinson, who sold it to his son-in-law, Mort Lerner. It was bought in 1984 by the privately held Deichmann Group of Germany.^[1][2] Till that time Rack Room Shoes ran 22 stores.

Rack Room now operates over 450 stores in 34 states under the names Rack Room Shoes and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse,^[3]. Rack Room Shoes bought Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse in 2002. The Atlanta-based Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse had been formed in the early 1980s. It competed with Rack Room at the lower end of the market but claimed to have a trendier selection. Rack Room, however, maintained that its European ownership kept it on top of footwear trends. Off Broadway continues to operate independently after the acquisition with 30 stores in the East Coast and Midwest regions, and in California ^[4]

Shoes That Fit

Through Rack Room Shoes partnership with Shoes That Fit, Rack Room Shoes has provided more than 150,000 pairs of shoes to children in need.Through Rack Room Shoes Gives, Rack Room Shoes provides a number of ways in which customers can seek support to strengthen local fundraising opportunities and initiatives. This online tool provides information on the different programs that make up Rack Room Shoes Gives, which includes Shoes That Fit, Rack Room Grants, Local Community Fundraising, and Corporate Donations. Rack Room Shoes offers opportunities for individuals to make requests for a 100 dollar Rack Room Gives donation card to support non-profit organizations. Rack Room Shoes is also proud to support a variety of school and scholarship programs, military and disaster relief programs.

Rewards

Loyalty members receive a 15 dollar off coupon after spending 200 points, one dollar for every point. They will also receive a 10 dollar coupon for their birth month. Some accounts randomly receive 10 to 15 percent off coupons also. All coupons will be uploaded straight into their accounts. Signing up is easy and fast. The employee will ask you for your name, phone number or email, birth month and day, and zip code so the corporation knows where their customers are coming from. After earning the 200 points and receiving the 15 dollars off, you have 90 days to use the coupon before it expires.

Ship2Home

The Ship2Home program allows merchandise to be ordered and purchased at one location and then shipped directly to the customer’s home from another location. Purchases must be made at a store location and orders usually arrive within 7-10 business days, excluding holidays. When possible multiple items will ship from the same location. However, they may arrive in separate packages on separate days. Orders can be shipped to any street address within the Continental United States, including P.O. Boxes and military APO, MPO, and FPO addresses. Ship2Home will still be included in the Buy One Get One 50% off sale when it is going on.

About the Founder

It all began in 1913 with a shoemaker's shop in Borbeck district of Essen. Six years later its owner, Heinrich Deichmann, born in 1888, began retailing factory-made shoes. When the founder died, his wife initially took the helm, followed by their son Heinz-Horst Deichmann in partnership with his wife, Ruth. The first store outside of Essen was opened in 1949 and others soon followed. The design of the store was modern, and this growing company sought to move with the times. But Deichmann remained true to the business model of a family - run company.

In the post - war years the company's network of outlets continued expanding in Germany. By 1963, the year of the company's fiftieth anniversary, there were 16 stores; twenty - five years later the name Deichmann could be found on over 400 shoe stores across the country. Today, shortly after the 90th anniversary, there are almost 1,100 locations in Germany.

Globally, the Deichmann group now operates in twenty-three European countries, with over 3,600 stores and 36,000 employees, selling over 172 million pairs of shoes annually. After Germany, the US has become the group's second most important market. Two generations and almost a century later, the company has developed into Europe’s market leader. Now as always, Deichmann is a family business that believes in growing through its own resources. Stock issues and bank loans are out of the question for Deichmann.

Principal Subsidiaries

Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse.

Principal Competitors

DSW Inc.; Famous Footwear; Payless ShoeSource, Inc.; Shoe Carnival Inc.; Shoe Show Inc.

References

External links

• Rack Room Shoes