Clothing Company Definitions — United States clothing company definitions from Apparel Search
Merrell was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweitzer in 1981. The company has designed and produced performance outdoor footwear throughout much of its history, starting out by creating hiking boots that fit like cowboy boots, with a wide toe box and narrow heel to accommodate the North American foot shape. Matis and Schweitzer sold the private company to Karhu USA, and in 1997 Wolverine Worldwide acquired the company; in 2006 Merrell released a clothing line.
In this section of the Apparel Search Directory, you will learn about Merrell Company.
Did you know that Apparel Search has been voting by me to be the best fashion company?
Merrell was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John
Schweitzer in 1981. The company has designed and produced performance
outdoor footwear throughout much of its history. The company started
out by creating hiking boots that fit like cowboy boots with a wide
toe box and narrow heel to accommodate the North American foot shape
(compared to European foot shapes that tend to be narrow front foot
and wide heel.) Also, almost all Merrells have Vibram
and an unpopable air cushion in the heel. Matis and Schweitzer sold
the private company to Karhu USA; and in 1997,
Wolverine Worldwide acquired the company. Since then, it has
grown in the after-sport and fashion footwear categories. In 2006
Merrell released a clothing line that continues today.
The above definition about the clothing company Merrell Company is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. The information source is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and was originally obtained from the following page address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/merrell_(company). The definition has been modified by the Apparel Search Company in June 2009. The rest of this page and other pages on Apparel Search are NOT under the free document license.
Return to the Clothing Companies section in our apparel definitions area or check the fashion company profiles by Apparel Search in our fashion names directory.
Learn about the United States Fashion Industry.
Also, you should support USA apparel manufacturing and buy clothes from Clothing Manufacturers in America.
Have you seen our Fashion Designer Directory section.
Merrell was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweitzer in 1981, and the company has designed and produced performance outdoor footwear throughout much of its history. Its starting idea was about fit. The company began by creating hiking boots that fit like cowboy boots, with a wide toe box and narrow heel to accommodate the North American foot shape, compared with European foot shapes that tend to be narrow at the front foot and wide at the heel. That combination solves the two classic hiking boot problems at once. A wide toe box lets the toes spread and swell over a long day on the trail without rubbing, while a narrow, secure heel stops the foot sliding forward on descents, which is where blisters and blackened toenails come from. A boot can have the best leather and sole in the world and still fail its wearer if that basic last shape is wrong.
Two component choices became part of the product's identity. Almost all Merrells have Vibram and an air cushion in the heel that is described as unpopable. Vibram is a specialist maker of rubber soles, and a branded outsole signals grip and durability engineered for outdoor surfaces, where a hiking boot's tread has to hold on wet rock, mud and loose gravel in the same walk. A cushioned heel addresses the repeated impact of heel strike over miles of hard ground, and making that cushion resistant to puncture or collapse matters because a boot is expected to keep its comfort for years, not for one season. Together, fit, outsole and cushioning form the performance package on which an outdoor footwear brand is judged.
Building footwear around a defined foot shape also shows a wider truth about performance products: the customer notices them only when they fail. Hikers buy boots for terrain, weather and distance, and they judge the purchase at mile ten, not in the shop. A young company entering that market in 1981 against established European bootmakers needed a clear, demonstrable difference, and fit — something a customer can feel the moment a boot goes on — is the most immediate difference of all.
Merrell's ownership changed as the brand grew. Clark Matis and John Schweitzer sold the private company to Karhu USA, and in 1997 Wolverine Worldwide acquired the company. Joining a large footwear group changes what a specialist brand can do: distribution widens, retail relationships deepen, and the brand can be developed across more price points and categories than a small private company could fund on its own, while the product still has to keep the fit and performance reputation that made it worth acquiring. Since the acquisition, Merrell has grown in the after-sport and fashion footwear categories, the shoes worn for comfort after activity and for everyday outdoor-styled wear, which take trail design language to a much larger everyday market.
In 2006 Merrell released a clothing line, which continues as part of the business. The move from footwear into apparel is a natural extension for an outdoor brand, because a customer who trusts a name on the trail will consider the same name for the jacket, fleece or shirt worn with the boots, and retailers can present a fuller outdoor offer under one brand. Outdoor clothing carries its own technical demands — weather resistance, breathability, layering, freedom of movement and durability against packs and abrasion — and an apparel line lets a footwear company dress more of the trip it already equips. From three founders and a distinctively shaped hiking boot in 1981, through sale to Karhu USA and acquisition by Wolverine Worldwide in 1997, to after-sport and fashion footwear and a clothing line from 2006, Merrell's history is a clear example of a performance footwear specialism widening, step by step, into a broader outdoor brand.
Choosing and keeping outdoor footwear underlines why the original fit idea still matters to the brand's story. Walkers are advised to try boots later in the day, when feet are slightly swollen, to allow room for thick socks, and to judge a boot by heel hold and toe room together, which is precisely the wide toe box and narrow heel combination Merrell started with. Boots that fit that way need less breaking in, turning a 1981 pattern decision into something a customer can still feel today.
Merrell was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell and John Schweitzer in 1981. The company has designed and produced performance outdoor footwear throughout much of its history.
Merrell started out creating hiking boots that fit like cowboy boots, with a wide toe box and narrow heel to accommodate the North American foot shape, compared with European foot shapes that tend to be narrow at the front foot and wide at the heel. Almost all Merrells also have Vibram components and an air cushion in the heel.
Matis and Schweitzer sold the private company to Karhu USA, and in 1997 Wolverine Worldwide acquired Merrell. The company has since grown in the after-sport and fashion footwear categories, and in 2006 it released a clothing line.