Brown Shoe Names Timothy J. Joyce Senior Vice President, General Manager-American Sporting Goods

ST. LOUIS, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS, www.brownshoe.com) has appointed Timothy J. Joyce to the position of Senior Vice President & General Manager-American Sporting Goods.

In this role, Joyce will drive strategic growth for the American Sporting Goods (ASG) brands, including Avia®, ryka® and AND 1®, which Brown Shoe added to its portfolio with the acquisition of ASG in February.

Joyce brings to Brown Shoe an extensive background in global sales strategy, product innovation and talent development for established and emerging athletic and wellness brands.  He spent more than 19 years in a series of positions at Nike, Inc., where he was appointed Vice President-Global Sales in 1997.  In the decade that followed, Joyce held leadership roles with sport and fitness-focused companies within and beyond the footwear industry, including President at FogDog.com, Executive Vice President at adidas America, President & Chief Operating Officer at HO Sports and Senior Vice President & General Manager at Nautilus, Inc.  Most recently, Joyce was a partner at The Meriwether Group, a private equity investment firm where he handled brand and organizational development for footwear, apparel and accessories clients.

"Tim's proven expertise in building awareness and revenue for leading fitness brands by connecting with customers pursuing healthy lifestyles spans three decades, and is an excellent fit with the ASG brands.  This is the ideal time to add dedicated leadership to the performance athletic area of our portfolio, as we complete the initial transition of ASG into Brown Shoe and turn our attention to growth and expansion," said Brown Shoe Division President-Wholesale Mark Lardie.

Joyce holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Sports Administration from Ohio University.  He will relocate to ASG's Aliso Viejo office.  

ASG's key brands include Avia athletic shoes for men, women and children, ryka women's fitness footwear, AND 1 basketball shoes for men and boys and Nevados outdoor footwear for men, women and children.  Avia has a more than 30-year history of offering technical running, walking and fitness footwear featuring innovative technology at a value.  Its offerings appeal to hard-core runners and casual walkers alike.  ryka is a women's fitness and lifestyle brand created to accommodate the unique needs of a woman's physiology.  The brand embraces healthy lifestyles and celebrating women by maintaining alliances throughout the women's fitness community, and counts daytime television's Kelly Ripa as a partner.  AND 1 is a men's performance basketball and lifestyle brand that caters to basketball participants and enthusiasts.  The brand's global appeal is driven by its authentic heritage in the sport and advanced technology features to enhance players' game.   Nevados hiking and trail footwear and sport sandals offer a combination of performance technology, comfort and value for adults and kids that are passionate about outdoor adventures.

About Brown Shoe Company, Inc.

Brown Shoe is a $2.7 billion global footwear company.  Brown Shoe's Retail division operates Famous Footwear, a leading family branded footwear destination with over 1,100 stores nationwide and e-commerce site FamousFootwear.com, approximately 250 specialty retail stores in the U.S., Canada, and China primarily under the Naturalizer brand name, and footwear e-tailer shoes.com. Through its wholesale divisions, Brown Shoe designs and markets leading fashion and athletic footwear brands including Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's, LifeStride, Sam Edelman, Franco Sarto, Via Spiga, Etienne Aigner, Vera Wang Lavender, Avia, ryka, AND 1, and Buster Brown.  Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's website at www.brownshoe.com.

SOURCE Brown Shoe Company, Inc.