Freeman, Hardy and Willis was a major chain of footwear retailers in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

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History

The shoe retailer was established in 1875 and was named after three employees of the company. For many years, there was a branch in nearly every town in the United Kingdom. In 1929 the company was acquired by Sears

Sears plc

Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Sir Philip Green in 1999.-History:...

. Its subsidiary, the British Shoe Corporation, based in Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

, went on to own the Trueform, Curtess, Dolcis

Dolcis Shoes

-History:The company began life on a street barrow in 1863 when John Upson started to sell his shoes on Woolwich Town Market. Business grew, and from the barrow he graduated to his first store in Woolwich called the Great Boot Provider....

, Manfield, Saxone and Lilley & Skinner brands. The name was also changed to simply Freeman Hardy Willis in order to have bolder lettering on shopfronts. During the early '60s the paper bags used to wrap your shoes had the FHW letters and the legend For Happy Walking printed on them.

Sale of company

In the early 1990s the British Shoe Corporation converted approximately half of the 540 Freeman Hardy Willis branches into Hush Puppies

Hush Puppies

Hush Puppies is an international brand of contemporary, casual footwear for men, women and children. The shoes have been described as "the classic American brushed-suede shoes with the lightweight crepe sole". A division of Wolverine Worldwide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan...

 shops and sold the remainder to Stephen Hinchliffe, an entrepreneur from Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

. After only a year, Hinchliffe's business empire collapsed. He was subsequently jailed after it was found that he bribed bank officials to obtain loans to buy the company. After providing "Shoes For All The Family" since 1875, Freeman Hardy Willis was no more by 1996. After closure, 44 former FHW branches were sold to Stead & Simpson.