Welcome to the Month of Merrell! We're featuring this hiking footwear giant every Friday during the month of July to highlight the history, features, and accomplishments of the brand.
It may surprise you to learn that Merrell started with a custom pair of cowboy boots. Randy Merrell used his industrial shoe-making education and knack for creating handmade boots to marry American technology with Italian manufacturing processes.
In 1981, Randy brought two former ski company executives into the fold: all-American Olympian Clark Matis and John Schweizer. Bringing together Randy's brilliant craftsmanship and the industry experience and athletic instincts of Clark and John allowed them to really dig into designing more affordable high-performance hiking boots.
The triumphant trio worked so well together because each man brought something special to the table. Randy was responsible for original product designs. Clark handled production management and marketing. And John provided business savvy and Italian connections.