History
The shoe retailer was established in 1875 and was named after three employees of the company, one of who was Alfred Freeman, a Russian shoe maker who resided in St Pancras (London). For many years, there was a branch in nearly every town in the United Kingdom. In 1929 the company was acquired by Sears. Its subsidiary, the British Shoe Corporation, based in Leicester, went on to own the Trueform, Curtess, Dolcis, 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.
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