Genesco has unveiled its new headquarters in Nashville, Tenn.
The footwear firm behind Journeys, Johnston & Murphy and Schuh held an opening ceremony on Nov. 3 to celebrate the move from its former headquarters on Murfreesboro Road — which housed the company for more than 50 years — to its new offices located at 535 Marriott Drive. The 182,000-sq.-ft. location has seven floors devoted to its owned and licensed brands and will house more than 850 employees in total.
Genesco CEO Mimi Vaughn, Nashville Mayor John Cooper, United Way president Brian Hassett and Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ralph Schulz were present for the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on Nov. 3.
“We put a tremendous amount of thought into how our new offices should function post-pandemic with a focus on growth, innovation, collaborative and creative workspaces,” said Vaughn in a statement. “We knew we wanted to stay local as our commitment to Middle Tennessee is clear. Our new offices enable us to do our very best work and build on our success by growing and strengthening our position as a footwear focused leader in both the footwear industry and our community.”
Vaughn, who assumed her position as CEO of the company in February 2020, is the first woman chief executive in Genesco’s 100-year history. In the last few years, much of her focus has been on managing the transition to the new corporate headquarters office. At FN’s Footwear CEO Summit in August, Vaughn said her goal was to make Genesco “right for the digital age,” which included a hybrid work model and an office space designed with thoughtful and painstaking detail.
“We designed our headquarters to allow us to our best work,” she said, adding that the light-filled space is full of energy and allows for the building of community and culture that enabled the company to “survive and thrive.”
Genesco lowered its guidance for the year in September after reporting net sales of $535.3 million in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 4% from $555.2 million last year and an increase of 10% from $487 million in Q2 of fiscal 2020, prior to the pandemic.
On the company’s earnings call, Vaughn told analysts that stronger-than-expected results in its Schuh and Johnston & Murphy businesses helped overcome some softness late in the quarter at Journeys, due to an increasingly challenging macro environment.
