ABOUT RG BARRY

RG Barry is a leading developer and marketer of accessory lifestyle brands and products that provide fashion and function for a great life. The Company offers products in three distinct segments of the accessory universe – footwear, handbags and foot care. Our products are sold through national chains, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, department stores, independent and specialty retailers, boutiques, catalogs, home shopping networks and online retailers. We consistently are among the best-performing accessory companies in North America.

VISION & STRATEGY

RG Barry has transformed our business from a one-dimensional, modest growth slipper company into a multi-dimensional growing provider of functional, fashionable accessory products.

This change is made possible by our continuous focus on a culture that operates with a common purpose. Our mission, goals, values and beliefs guide us, energize us, and help sustain our reputation as a leader out in the accessories market.
LEADERSHIP

The evolution of our business into a growing consumer-centric, brand management company has required the successful implementation of well-defined strategies, tremendous organizational focus and strong, capable leadership.

Today, RG Barry boasts an impressive team of coaches whose sole objective is to lead as we continue developing great accessories brands and fashionable, solution-oriented products that make life better for our consumers. They include:
HISTORY

Since introducing the world's first foam-soled, soft, washable slipper in 1947, our product focus and operating model have evolved beyond our footwear roots to serve the ever-changing accessories marketplace. That evolution was never more apparent than during fiscal 2011. We literally transformed our business from a one-dimensional, modest-growth slipper company into a multi-dimensional, growing provider of functional, fashionable accessory products with the acquisitions of two successful accessories businesses - Foot Petals, Inc. of Long Beach, California, and baggallini, Inc. of Portland, Oregon.
CHARITABLE GIVING

RG Barry believes that it is the responsibility of a good corporate citizen to support the communities in which it lives and works. Toward that end, the Company's Board of Directors annually sets aside a portion of pre-tax net profit for use in supporting various charitable and community endeavors.

Distribution of the Corporation's charitable gifts is controlled by an 8-member committee of RG Barry team members selected annually from throughout the Corporation.
Dearfoams
baggallini
Foot Petals
CAREERS

As one of the world's leading developers and marketers of fashion and functional accessory products, RG Barry is committed to attracting and developing the best talent available to it. We offer an exhilarating, high-performing team environment that is casual and fun; training and growth opportunities; and competitive pay and benefits.
 
HOW WE BEGAN

RG Barry has grown and changed many times since its founding in 1947.

Our Company's beginnings can be traced to Columbus. OH, housewife and inventor Florence Zacks Melton and the detachable shoulder pads she developed for women's military-style fashions of the time.

Mrs. Melton was visiting the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron, OH, in 1947 seeking innovative materials to improve the durability of her shoulder pads. During that visit, she was introduced to foam latex, a material that had been developed during World War II and for which Firestone was seeking commercial uses. While returning home from Akron, Mrs. Melton decided that the best use for foam latex wasn't shoulder pads, it was to walk on. So, using a sample of this soft, cushioned material, she fashioned the world's first foam-soled, soft, washable slipper. In a very short time, demand for her comfortable slippers eclipsed that of shoulder pads making foam-cushioned slippers RG Barry's primary business.

Today, we are a leading developer and marketer of accessory lifestyle brands and products that are functional, fashionable and that touch the lives of consumers. We offer products in three distinct segments of the accessory category – footwear, handbaggs and foot care.

Our products are sold through national chains, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, better and mid-tier department stores, non-promotional independent and specialty retailers, boutiques, catalogs, home shopping networks and online retailers.

The Company has been publicly traded since 1962 and is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the trading symbol DFZ. We are consistently among the best-performing public companies in our category.


HISTORICAL TIME LINE
Click links below:

1940's | 1950's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's


1945
Florence Zacks Melton creates a detachable shoulder pad for women's garments.

1947
Partners Harry Streim, Florence and Aaron Zacks form RG Barry. The Company name is derived from the first names of the co-founders' sons: Richard, Gordon and Barry.

1948
RG Barry introduces the world's first foam-cushioned, washable slipper. It is an immediate hit in the notions area of department stores.

1958
Dearfoams® moves slippers from notions departments to first floor hosiery departments, launching what will evolve into the accessory footwear category.

1962
RG Barry becomes a public company.

1964
The Company initiates the use of data processing to enhance business performance.

1965
The Company purchases "boudoir slipper" maker Dot & Peg Productions.

1968
RG Barry, working in conjunction with the University of Michigan, implements a pioneering human resources accounting system. The project runs through 1973.

1969
RG Barry launches a line of slippers in "discount stores"; and acquires Bernardo® sandals, which it operates until 1985.

1971
The Company's first Mexican manufacturing facility opens at Nuevo Laredo. Before exiting all manufacturing in 2004, the Company will expand its Mexican operations to employ several thousand workers at plants in Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Acuna, Ciudad Juarez and Zacatecas.

1973
Mushrooms® shoes are launched using major market television advertising, a footwear industry first. The pioneering women's comfort footwear brand was sold to U.S. Shoe Corporation in 1982.

1976
RG Barry relocates from its downtown Columbus office and manufacturing facility to a new corporate headquarters in suburban Pickerington.

1979
Net sales top $100 million mark for the first time.

1980
Dearfoams® Warm-Up Boots become one of the top-selling holiday gift items in U.S. department store history.

1982
The Company enters the licensed character products arena with Cabbage Patch Kids® and Care Bear® slippers.

1987
RG Barry begins network television advertising for its Dearfoams® brand. Ensuing holiday campaigns will feature characters including Hollywood legend Zsa Zsa Gabor, British Royal Family lookalikes and dancing store mannequins.

1994
Thermal products maker Vesture Corporation of Asheboro, N.C., is purchased. The Company operates Vesture until its sale in 2003.

1995
RG Barry moves from the American Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange where its common shares will be listed until 2004.

1997
RG Barry celebrates its 50th anniversary and is named Wal-Mart Stores International Soft Lines Vendor of the Year.

1998
The Company's Vesture Corporation subsidiary is awarded patent for its innovative pizza/hot food delivery system.

1999
RG Barry buys French footwear maker Fargeot et Compagnie SA of Thiviers, France. The Company operates Fargeot until its sale in 2007.

2002
The Company opens its first representative sourcing office in Hong Kong.

2004-05
The Company implements a new business model, which includes exiting all manufacturing and under-performing businesses and implementing a flexible sourcing model. As a result, the international Turnaround Management Association recognizes RG Barry as its mid-sized turnaround of the year.

2006
Newly-named President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Tunney leads development of long-range strategic growth plans and institutes an ongoing program of cultural development and enrichment.

2007
The Company launches its proprietary Terrasoles® brand.

2008
Walmart U.S. names the Company its principal supplier of replenishment slippers. Additional customer accolades include: Target Corporation's "Vendor of the Year in Men's Essentials"; Kohl's Corporation "Best in Class-Accessories"; Sears Holding Corporation's coveted "Partners in Progress" award; and Sam's Club "Accessory Vendor of the Quarter." The Company moves its stock listing to the NASDAQ Global Market.

2009
RG Barry's Board of Directors adopts a dividend policy and declares a cash dividend for the first time since 1981.

2010
The Company licenses the Dearfoams® brand to Olivet International, one of the world's leading accessory apparel resources, to develop and market a variety of sleepwear, active wear and accessory products bearing the Dearfoams® name.

2011
RG Barry purchases the assets of Foot Petals, LLC, a privately-owned Long Beach, California-based developer and marketer of premium insoles; and baggallini, Inc,, the suburban Portland, OR, based developer and marketer of incredibly organized, fashionable handbaggs, tote baggs and travel accessories.

2012
The Company exits its leased San Angelo, Texas footwear distribution center, the final legacy of its manufacturing heritage. Footwear distribution is consolidated to a third-party logistics provider in Long Beach, CA.

2013
The Company finalized the acquisition of niche outdoor and travel bag brand KIVA from KIVA Designs, inc.

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