The Wohl Shoe Company was a major American footwear wholesaler and retailer, founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1916 and known for its successful brands like Jacqueline, Natural Poise Arch Shoes, Connie, and Paris Fashion Fifth Avenue Shoes in the 1930s-1950s. "Connie" was a younger, fashion-forward line launched by the Wohl Shoe Company in the mid-1930s. It was heavily marketed in the 1940s as stylish but affordable "glamour" shoes for young women. The brand flourished for decades, shifting its style to match every era. It was famous for peep-toe pumps in the 1940s, stilettos in the 1950s, and bold platform boots during the 1970s. In 1950, Brown Shoe Company (now Caleres) acquired this 35-year-old wholesale and retail shoe business. Wohl had annual sales of $33 million, 90% of which came from women’s shoes. Brown had provided only 10% of Wohl’s shoes before the merger, and the merger provided a large new market for Brown. Wohl wholesaled shoes through 2500 stores throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, and operated several hundred retail stores and leased department store shoe salons. With this first major acquisition, Brown took a giant step toward integrating its operations into both manufacturing and retailing. Wohl operated as a subsidiary of the Brown Group, continuing to publish, such as a 1969 book, Shoes of Yesterday. The Brown Shoe Company began aggressively restructuring in the late 1980s and 1990s. They eventually focused on core brands like Naturalizer and Famous Footwear, leading to the Connie label being largely phased out of major production by the early 2000s.