“We are excited to welcome Shoe Station to the Shoe Carnival team. Coming on the heels of our best quarter of our best year in our 43-year history, this deal accelerates our journey toward becoming a multi-billion-dollar retailer in the years ahead”, commented Shoe Carnival President and CEO Mark Worden.

It is the first-ever acquisition of Shoe Carnival, which will now own and operate Shoe Station’s 21 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana. This business deal will allow the footwear retailer to reach a broader customer base across both urban and suburban demographics, while it is expecting to own more than 400 stores by the end of 2022. Before the acquisition, Shoe Carnival operated 377 stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico, in addition to the e-commerce website.

G. Brent Barkin, who is the current president and CEO of Shoe Station, will become the group’s senior vice president, in charge of the new business development and integration. He noted that “Shoe Carnival brings infrastructure and financial backing to significantly accelerate” the Shoe Station brand’s growth, concluding that “taken together, the two brands create a winning customer value proposition. We are delighted to become part of Shoe Carnival, and I cannot wait to partner with Mark and his talented team to unlock more exciting opportunities to come”.