LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. is a leading developer and marketer of premium, branded footwear for dedicated work and outdoor users. The Company's trusted Danner® and LaCrosse® brands are sold through a network of specialty retailers and distributors in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

LaCrosse has been successful in increasing its brand equity in niche segments of the work and outdoor footwear markets that are quality and performance driven, which offer opportunities for sustainable and profitable growth over the long term. The Company is executing a growth strategy based on leveraging its powerful brands with technology innovation, compelling marketing initiatives and enhanced customer service.

One of the Company's biggest assets is its powerful brands. The Danner brand is known nationwide as the "expert's choice" in premium outdoor footwear, with rugged designs that exceed customer expectations for performance and quality, and with classic outdoor heritage and authentic character. Among its target customers, the LaCrosse brand is known throughout the U.S. for high performance in the field and on the job. Designed for durability and reliability, LaCrosse boots are built to satisfy specific end-user needs, such as being protective against water, extreme cold, chemicals or fire, and other harsh environments.

In addition to its strong brands, LaCrosse continues to differentiate its products by incorporating substantive technology into its products and then migrating that technology across different product categories. In recent years, the Company introduced such technology as its Alpha^TM, Quad Comfort^TM and TERRA FORCE^TM platforms, which were first incorporated one product category and later successfully used in others. For 2006, the Company announced its new EXO^TM technology, combining exceptional durability with the performance of an athletic shoe. EXO?s pioneering sport-outdoor fusion design replaces a standard shank system with an ultra-light exoskeleton chassis. EXO will initially be featured in uniform boots and later introduced into hunting boots. In coming periods, LaCrosse expects to continue to bring more groundbreaking, performance-oriented technology to the marketplace that clearly differentiates its products.

By competing in the recreational market, LaCrosse is forced to remain highly innovative and continuously work to strengthen brand loyalty for its occupational products. The Company sees strong crossover of brand awareness and sales between recreational customers and occupational customers.

Corporate History and Transformation

The Company traces its roots back to 1897, with the founding of La Crosse Rubber Mills, which eventually focused on the manufacture of rubber and vinyl footwear. Located in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, the original company was purchased from the founders in 1982 by a new management group and legally incorporated in Wisconsin in 1983. LaCrosse established a loyal following among Midwestern laborers and outdoorsmen operating in severe cold or wet environments. In 1994, the Company acquired Danner Shoe Manufacturing, a premium maker of leather boots since 1932, which was located in Portland, Oregon since 1936. Danner built a strong reputation among Pacific Northwest loggers, shipyard workers and early outdoor enthusiasts. By the late 1990s, the two brands were associated nationwide with time-honored quality and performance, but the Company was operating at a growing loss and straddled by increasing debt.

In recent years, the Company business restructuring has resulted in significantly improved operating efficiencies, as it moved from being a manufacturer to being primarily a developer and marketer: increasing its outsourced production from approximately 50% to 80%; evolving from fixed to variable business model; consolidating its operations and facilities; and dramatically reducing its cost structure. During 2004, LaCrosse continued to trim less profitable parts of its business, including its former PVC boot line and related facility. While the remaining domestic manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon, provides tremendous flexibility, the Company is positioned for increased low-cost, high-quality sourcing from China.

To strengthen both customer responsiveness and product quality, the Company operates an international office in China to oversee its outsourced manufacturing and ensure high quality standards, as well as continue to work to reduce product development lead-times -- a key to remaining competitive in today's ever-changing marketplace.

In line with its long-term strategy to diversify and strengthen its sales channels, the Company recently established a new European sales office in order to expand its international business and completed a new world-class distribution facility in the Midwest to improve operating efficiencies, increase speed of delivery and better serve its customers. In preparation for future growth, the Company recently openned a new production facility in Portland that will significantly increase its capacity to efficiently meet growing worldwide demand and extend its great tradition of superior craftsmanship.

Above is only a brief portion of their history.  They have made many other accomplishments.  Thank you for choosing to learn more about LaCrosse on the Apparel Search website.

In 2012, the formerly publicly traded company was bought by Japanese based ABC-Mart.