Acquired Again: Steve Madden Sells Greats to UCG

Has a brand ever improved post-acquisition?

I ask because Unified Commerce Group (UCG) just bought Greats, the Brooklyn-born sneaker brand that made waves during the European-style minimalist sneaker boom of the 2010s by selling Italian-made sneaks with a slightly bulkier build that are slightly more suited to the American sneaker aesthetic.

Five years after their founding they moved much of their production from Italy to Portugal and elsewhere when Steve Madden acquired them in 2019. And they just got acquired again.

Background: What Made Greats So Great

• Excellent price for an Italian-made, minimalist leather sneaker
• The design combines Italian aesthetics with a chunkier American 1980s streetwear style
• Premium Margom outsoles (the same type used on $400 Common Projects)

Greats made a name for selling stitched-not-glued, minimalist-but-not-too-sleek leather sneakers like the Royale, but they’re also known for their relatively low prices. (Hey, under $200 isn’t bad for these kinds of shoes.)

The brand was a pioneer in the direct-to-consumer model that was sweeping ecommerce at the time, enabling lower prices by cutting out brick and mortar retailers.

A big part of Greats’ popularity was due to their Brooklyn identity. They differentiated themselves during the 2010s Italian minimalist sneakers boom by making more American-looking, slightly chunkier alternatives to the sleeker European-style sneakers on the market (like Common Projects) at half the price.

They produced their shoes in Italy and using Margom outsoles, a brand that’s attracted its own cult following in the high-end sneaker market.

The combination of good materials, Italian manufacturing, DTC marketing, and high durability (stitching the sole makes it way less likely to peel away with wear) resulted in minimalist leather sneakers that were both well-priced, stylish, and long-lasting.

Greats Acquired by Steve Madden

• Moved some of their manufacturing to Portugal
• Changed from Margom soles to proprietary soles
• Still a decent value for leather sneakers

It’s no secret that when well-respected brands get scooped up by larger companies, you tend to see the quality dip and the prices stay the same. (The venture capitalists who bought the brand need to see their investment increase, after all.)

We’ve seen this with brands like Dr. Martens and Filson, both of which were once industry gold standards but now produce shoes and clothes with materials and craftsmanship that are aren’t as well regarded as their original offerings.

Another common change that these brands also exemplified is that Dr. Martens and Filson were renowned for being “home grown” brands, making their products in the UK and US respectively, and then moved much of it to Asia post acquisition.

(Nothing wrong with Asian manufacturing, but sometimes some elements of the original craftsmanship get left by the wayside.)

After Greats was acquired by Steve Madden, the flagship Royale sneakers — once made exclusively in Italy with premium Margom outsoles — now have a mix of unspecified manufacturing locations (emphasizing Portugal), and they swapped the beloved Margom outsole for Steve Madden’s in-house rubber sole.

Again, these changes aren’t bad on their face. Lots of quality footwear is made in Portugal, and the Margom-or-bust streak in the sneaker world doesn’t make a ton of sense. There are ways of testing shoe soles for softness and durability, and many brands’ “substitutes” perform just as well.

But these changes do lower production costs and those savings weren’t passed back to the customer.

When we reviewed the Greats Royale 2.0 post-Madden acquisition, they were still a solid buy for the quality materials and construction, even if there are more alternatives on the market now, like Thursday’s Premier sneaker.

Greats’ Future

What does the future hold? Only time will tell if UCG’s acquisition will lead to Greats taking a nosedive in quality or continuing to straddle the line between cost-effective production and maintaining its roots in craftsmanship.

If history repeats itself, we might be looking at another classic case of diminishing quality — similar to what we’ve seen with Brooks Brothers, Sorel, and Doc Martens —but let’s hope Greats can buck the trend.