Where Did the Flagg Brothers Go?

Flagg Bros. operates as a subsidiary of Genesco under the name Flagg Bros. of Puerto Rico. Flagg Bros. operated as a nationwide chain of shoe stores and as a catalogue for men’s clothing, and was based in Nashville, Tennessee throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Its parent company, Jarman Shoes, now Genesco, struggled to remain profitable during the 1970s and experimented with various business strategies that involved focusing on the retail shoe business and moving away from manufacturing and apparel.

Advertisements for Flagg Bros. Rise Up Fashions line of men’s clothing appeared in magazines until at least 1982. The clothing was aimed at a young, urban market and featured items such as platform shoes for men and velvet suits with waist length jackets. New management in the early 1980s decided to focus on retail shoe operations and absorbed the Flagg Bros. brand into Jarman Shoes.

Genesco applied for and received a trademark for a company by the name of Flagg Bros. of Puerto Rico in 1990. The application states the company is involved in the selling of shoes and apparel and is based in Nashville. Flagg Bros. of Puerto Rico is listed as a subsidiary of Genesco on Bloomberg.com, but there is no indication of how the company fits within Genesco’s current operations. Genesco’s focus is on the sale of footwear and hats, as of November 2015.

Genesco owns the Johnston & Murphy brand and the hat store Lidz. All of Genesco’s manufacturing operations have been moved outside of the United States, with the last factory relocating in 2002.