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Brown Shoe To Launch Carlos Santana Line Of Footwear; Portion Of Proceeds To Go To Charity

Brown Shoe To Launch Carlos Santana Line Of Footwear; Portion Of Proceeds To Go To Charity

Published 05-25-00

Submitted by Brown Shoe Company, Inc.

Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) has signed a licensing agreement with this year's 8-time Grammy winner, Carlos Santana, to produce a line of men's and women's fashion footwear under the signature "Carlos" label, the company announced today.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this footwear will be donated to the Milagro Foundation, which partners with the nonprofit community to serve the needs of children and youth. Started in 1998 by Carlos and Deborah Santana, the foundation supports educational efforts to help children and youth live healthy lives, literate lives and culturally enriched lives.
The "Carlos" collection will feature cutting edge fashion with multi-cultural influences, and will be sold in specialty and department store retail outlets nationwide starting in Fall 2000.

"Meeting with Brown Shoe I realized they could connect with my vision," Santana said. "Through their creative thinking and design work it was apparent that they got what this brand is all about. This is the type of company I want to help me in my work for the Milagro Foundation. We believe that life is a miracle (milagro) and that children everywhere deserve the opportunity to lead safe, healthy and educationally creative lives."

The "supernatural" career of Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana has spanned 3 decades and produced sales of more than 50 million albums to fans worldwide who appreciate his unique musical talent and his personal message of universal brotherhood.

Footwear styles under the "Carlos" label will reflect the same passion and energy that is generated by Carlos Santana's music. Retailers can experience the Carlos line in August at the World Shoe Association's semi-annual mega-trade show in Las Vegas.

"We're enthusiastic about this partnership with Carlos Santana," said Gary Rich, President of Brown's Pagoda division, which oversees licensed brands. "Carlos footwear will be a hit with all the people who love Santana's music and respect him for his commitment to helping children throughout the world."

Brown Shoe is a $1.6 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The company operates the Famous Footwear and Naturalizer chains of footwear retail stores and markets leading brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, NightLife, Naturalsport and Buster Brown. Brown Shoe also markets major licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's, Barbie, Sammy Sosa, and Digimon and NASCAR character footwear.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These include general economic conditions, competition, consumer apparel and footwear buying trends, and political and economic conditions in Brazil and China, which are significant footwear sourcing countries. The Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission contain detailed information relating to such factors. Brown Shoe press releases are available by fax through PR Newswire's Company News On-Call fax service at 800-758-5804, extension 109435. Brown Shoe information also is available on the Company's web site at http://www.brownshoe.com.

Contact: Beth Fagan
Vice President, Public Affairs
314-854-4093

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: MILAGRO FOUNDATION
The Milagro Foundation partners with the nonprofit community to serve the needs of children and youth. Started in 1998 by Carlos and Deborah Santana, the foundation supports educational efforts to help children and youth live healthy lives, literate lives and culturally enriched lives.

Milagro assists the most at-risk and vulnerable populations so they can acquire the skills needed to succeed in life. Milagro especially wishes to strengthen arts education to enhance the quality of young lives. The foundation makes grants to community-based grass-roots federal tax-exempt 501c(3) organizations that work with children and youth. Milagro does not make grants to individuals.

For more information about the Milagro Foundation, contact www.santana.com/milagro or send a postcard or letter to

Milagro Foundation
PO Box 9125
San Rafael, CA 94912

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