Genesco Inc. is an American publicly owned specialty retailer of branded footwear and accessories and is a wholesaler of branded and licensed footwear based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded back in 1924 as Jarman Shoe Company, a footwear manufacturer, the company changed its name to General Shoe Company in 1931, and became a public company in 1939. By 1957, its stock would be included in the first S&P 500 Index. The company took its current name, Genesco—an acronym derived from its earlier name—in 1959. Genesco exited the business of U.S.-based footwear manufacturing in 2002 and now contracts with independent, third parties located offshore to manufacture its branded and licensed footwear. In June 2011, Genesco acquired U.K. retail chain and web business Schuh, which gave them an already well-established grounding in a market outside of the U.S. Wikipedia