Red Goose Shoes

The Red Goose Shoe Company of St. Louis, Missouri, began selling shoes to pioneer families headed west in 1869. The company's name was originally Gieseke-D'Oench-Hayes, after its founders, but when the company became advertising conscious in the early 1900s, they changed the name. Gieseke is German slang for "goose" so the goose image came naturally. The red color came later when, during the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, some stock boys painted the goose on the cartons red. The head of the company liked the idea, and so Red Goose Shoes was trademarked in 1906.

In 1911, the Roberts, Johnson & Rand Shoe Company merged with the Peters Shoe Company to form the International Shoe Company in St. Louis. Red Goose was swallowed up by the International Shoe in the first half of the 20th Century. International Shoe dropped Red Goose. And, by 1953, International Shoe Company changed its name to Interco and bought Florsheim Shoes.

In 1980, Interco diversified into home furnishings by the purchase of Ethan Allen.

In 1984, Interco began a rationalization of its portfolio, shedding most retail and footwear businesses. And a decade later, Interco sold off the remaining footware businesses.

Then in 1996, Interco changed its name to Furniture Brands International to reflect its new focus on furniture.