Robert Tucker, Visionary Founder of Shoe Show, Dies at 86

Robert Tucker — the visionary founder of Shoe Show who quietly grew the North Carolina-based family retailer into a national powerhouse with more than 1,000 stores across 47 states — died on Sept. 30. He was 86. In 1960, Tucker opened the first Shoe Show location with his wife, Carolyn Tucker, in downtown Kannapolis, N.C. — and the family-owned business has thrived for 63 years despite huge change across the retail landscape. (Lisa Tucker, the couple’s daughter, is now at the helm as president and CEO.) Robert Tucker, who was born in 1937 as Robert Bright Deese, changed his last name after his mother remarried. From a young age, he had a tireless work ethic — toiling as a cook and curb boy at Tuck Tavern, his stepfather’s restaurant in Concord, N.C. While still in high school, Tucker scored a job at Baucom’s Shoe Store during his senior year, an experience that set the stage for his own retail venture. When Bob and Carolyn opened their first location on Main Street in Kannapolis, they decided to call it Shoe Show. From there, they never looked back. As they dramatically grew the business through the decades, the Tuckers preferred to keep a low profile and

Follow Footwear News on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

from Footwear NewsFootwear News https://ift.tt/sVkWTKP