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Private company

Kinney Shoes

Shoe retailer

The G.R. Kinney Company was an American manufacturer and retailer of shoes from 1894 until September 16, 1998. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March 1923, with the symbol KNN. The shoe concern was started by George Romanta Kinney whose father ran a general store in rural Candor, New York.2 It is part of F. W. Woolworth Company.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1894Founded1
  • IndustryRetail sale of footwear and leather goods in specialised stores, manufacture of footwear1
  • HeadquartersNew York City1

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George Romanta Kinney 001
Photo: Eng. by E.G. Williams & Bro. N.Y., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The G.R. Kinney Company was an American manufacturer and retailer of shoes from 1894 until September 16, 1998. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March 1923, with the symbol KNN. The shoe concern was started by George Romanta Kinney whose father ran a general store in rural Candor, New York. The father became indebted and George vowed to repay his debts. In 1894, at the age of 28, he had saved enough to purchase a Lester retail outlet in Waverly, New York. Lester Shoe of Binghamton, New York was the predecessor to the Endicott Johnson Corporation. Kinney succeeded by selling affordably priced shoes to working Americans.2

Corporate structure

Kinney Shoes is part of a group headed by F. W. Woolworth Company. 6 entities, 4 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Products and brands

Kinney Shoes was the largest family chain shoe retailer in the United States at the beginning of 1936, with 335 stores operating nationwide. Although it was selling more shoes at the conclusion of 1936 than in 1929, its dollar volume was 20% to 30% below 1929.

On August 31, 1963, the G.R. Kinney Company was sold to F.W. Woolworth. Prior to this it was a subsidiary of the Brown Shoe Company which sold it for $45 million. The firm was renamed the Kinney Shoe Corporation and continued as a fully owned subsidiary of Woolworth. It retained its own eleven member board of directors and an existing panel of corporate officers.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kinney Shoes, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1894Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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