The Stride Rite Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the design and marketing of children’s footwear, and athletic and casual footwear for children and adults primarily in the United States. Its Children’s footwear includes dress and casual footwear, boots, sandals, athletic shoes, and sneakers in various styles. The company also provides sneakers and casual footwear for adults and children under the Keds trademark and casual footwear for women under the Grasshoppers label; marine footwear and outdoor recreational, hand-sewn, dress, and casual footwear for adults under the Sperry Top-Sider, Sperry, and Mainsail trademarks; cleated football and multi purpose footwear, casual leather walking footwear, and workplace footwear under the Spot-bilt brand name; and dress casual, sport casual, sandals, and athletic footwear for adults using the Tommy Hilfiger brand name under a license agreement with Tommy Hilfiger Licensing, Inc. The Stride Rite Corporation sells its products through department stores, independent shoe stores, shoe chains, value retailers, athletic-based retailers, specialty run retailers, sporting goods stores, licensed partners, catalog retailers, marine retailers, e-commerce sites, specialty stores, and mass retailers. It also markets some of its brands through its Stride Rite children stores, and Saucony outlet stores, as well as through Rite Family Footwear, and Stride Rite, Keds, Sperry outlet stores. As of December 1, 2006, the company operated 216 Stride Rite children’s shoe stores, 80 manufacturers’ outlet stores, 7 leased children’s shoe departments in selected Macy department stores, and 17 Saucony manufacturers’ outlet stores. The Stride Rite Corporation was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. As of August 17, 2007, Stride Rite Corp. is a subsidiary of Payless Shoesource Inc.