Browns Shoes Inc. is a Canadian fashion footwear retailer that owns and operates 72 stores across Canada under a variety of footwear brands. The company's headquarters is based in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec.
History
Browns Shoes was founded in Montreal in 1940 by Benjamin Brownstein, who immigrated to Montreal at the age of 15 from Romania. The original Browns Shoes location, on St. Catherine st. in downtown Montreal, burned down in 1954. After the fire, Benjamin's son, Morton Brownstein, took over the family business.[2] Morton Brownstein was born on January 12, 1928, to Benjamin and Minnie Brownstein. Upon graduating from high school, Morton worked at his father's department store on Montreal's St. Lawrence Boulevard. Morton married Bernice Greenfield, whom he met at the age of 13 at the Strathcona Academy in Outremont. Together, they had three children –Michael, Janis and Cheryl. After taking over the family business in 1954, Morton decided to take Browns into a different direction toward exclusive designer and fashion footwear. In 1959, he became the first North American retailer to bring Italian-made shoes to Canada.[3] Today, Browns Shoes is a nationwide shoe retailer, with 72 stores across Canada. Morton Brownstein remained the company's president until 1999, when he ceded the presidency of the company to his son, Michael.