A journey through the
history & heritage
of MFG
Explore our company and portfolio of brand's rich history in this unfolding story.
The first Williams store opens
Williams The Shoemen opens in Ballarat, Victoria, pioneering the way for specialist shoe stores in Australia.
The Mathers brand is established
William Mathers establishes Mathers Shoes, catering to fashionable Brisbane women at affordable prices.
The Ziera brand is launched
Two New Zealand podiatrists measure 10,000 women's feet, leading to the creation of the Ziera brand. This coincides with the increasingly significant role post-war women played in manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare industries that require comfortable, practical footwear.
Mountfords is established
John Mountford establishes Mountford Shoes in Adelaide, South Australia.
Graham Munro earns a scholarship to the Myer business training program.
The Gamins brand is launched
Identifying a gap in the footwear market for teenage girls, Graham Munro, now with Clarke and Coventry, launches the successful Gamins brand.
Gamins factory in Abbotsford burns down, famously reopening only losing a single day of production, by purchasing another shoe factory over the weekend.
The Gamins brand grows
The Gamins grows quickly, with Graham Munro operating multiple factories across Melbourne and Sydney in the 70's.
Kerrie Munro starts her career in the footwear industry as a receptionist for Gamins Shoes.
Snobb shoes is established but quickly rebranded to Midas after the mythical Greek king with the golden touch.
Diana Ferrari is established
Diana Ferrari is established as a small leather shoemaker in Melbourne and quickly becomes the go-to brand for women across Australia.
Supersoft is launched
Having established itself as a high-quality footwear brand, the Diana Ferrari label expands to Supersoft by Diana Ferrari, a dedicated offer catering to style and comfort in a wider-fitting.
Kerrie and Graham Munros three sons, Jay, Lee and Bill, begin 'informal apprenticeships' in the family business. Business is tough, and although still manufacturing and creating Gamins shoes, it is more for love than money.
Colorado is established
Colorado is established, becoming a popular brand for the everyday Australian.
Manufacturing appears all but dead in Australia. Kerrie sees the writing on the wall and becomes a buyer’s agent, selling shoes for other companies.
Styling Services is established
Kerrie moves on from being an agent and launches Styling Services and begins wholesaling directly to smaller stores and boutiques while operating five stores with Graham around Melbourne.
Django & Juliette is launched
While developing a trusted network of Chinese suppliers, Kerrie is also building her wholesale business, which is recording year-on-year growth. Encouraged by her success, Kerrie begins developing her own footwear. DJANGO & JULIETTE is launched, and remains on of Munro Footwear Group's strongest wholesale brands.
The Munros acquire Top End
The Munros continue to expand their brand offering by purchasing Top End, a wholesale play given the existing brand and customer base
Midas & Mollini are acquired
The Munros execute another successful acquisition, this time two successful women's fashion footwear brands, Midas and Mollini.
E-commerce giant, Styletread, is acquired
The Munro's acquired e-commerce Styletread, and, by 2015, turned it into a profitable platform by injecting internally designed brands alongside well-known Australian brands.
Fusion Retail Brands is acquired
The business makes its largest acquisition to date, acquiring Fusion Retail Brands. The acquisition boosts MFG's retail footprint to over 290 stores, and our workforce to over 2,000 people. Brands include Diana Ferrari, Mathers, Williams and Colorado. The business is consolidated and becomes known as Munro Footwear Group (MFG).
"Our growth has been enabled by bringing in subject matter experts and blending that with our experience and knowledge, which has helped us realise the potential we have had regarding ‘build and buy They could always see the potential in acquisitions."
MFG outgrows its headquarters in Collingwood and moves to its new home, MHub in Victoria Street, Abbotsford.
Ziera is acquired
Ziera, a well-established trusted comfort brand joins the MFG portfolio.
MFG proudly opens the Truganina Distribution Centre, a $56M, fully automated warehouse that will house more than 4 million units.
"We've built it for our team, and for our customers to grow into."
Children's footwear brand Bobux is acquired
MFG expands its offering, acquiring New Zealand children's footwear brand Bobux. The acquisition allows us to provide a year-round offering in the baby, toddler, and kids footwear markets. Mathers celebrates a significant milestone, turning 100 years old.