Brown's Shoe CO

Browns Shoe Shops Inc., a family-owned business established in Montreal in 1940, is synonymous with top international designer collections, luxurious leather goods, and exclusive street savvy fashion for ladies, men and children. One of the secrets to the success of the chain is the retail philosophy of chairman Morton Brownstein, who explains, “I want every customer to say, ‘I need to go to Browns,’ not ‘I need to buy a pair of shoes.’ If we accomplish this, then we have succeeded in equating shoes with Browns in a customer’s mind, so that for her or him, the only place to purchase shoes is Browns.” A third generation now leads the business, and the company has expanded with each successive generation’s strengths. The founder, Benjamin Brownstein, had the foresight in 1940 to open a family shoe store with products in a wide range of prices, on St. Catherine Street, the central shopping district of that era.