• Forbes/AP, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:33 PM

Dexter brand shoes -- formerly found at retailers such as Kohl's and J.C. Penney -- will be sold exclusively at Payless ShoeSource's 4,600 stores. The 50-year-old brand will begin appearing at Payless in a limited men's line this Christmas. A full line of men's and women's casual and dress shoes will go on sale next year.

The announcement is in line with Payless' strategy of distancing itself from its bargain-bin past. But the company isn't completely abandoning its low-cost image. It plans to develop the shoes in its New York design studio and charge between $25 and $45 a pair for men -- below the $60 price they fetched in department stores -- and $15 to $30 for women, says Payless CEO Matt Rubel.

Jim Issler, CEO of H.H. Brown Shoe Co., which owns the Dexter brand, says the company chose Payless because its large number of stores will expand access to the brand. H.H. Brown retains the rights to sell its line of performance bowling and golf shoes, as well as its hand-tailored 1957 shoe line.

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