But many shoe retailers say Ffany's prominence as a fashion trendsetter gives it greater significance.

While Americans bought 989 million pairs of shoes in 1989, a 17 percent increase since 1985, there are fewer American shoe retailers and manufacturers.

But the group said it would attempt to buy the shoe retailer, which is based in Canton, Mass., only in a friendly, negotiated deal.

Russell & Bromley is an English shoe retailer with a high-street retail operation.

But now that the product is almost on the market, Skins is meeting with some excitement from shoe retailers.

This distinction gradually weakened, particularly during the twentieth century, when there was a predominance of shoe retailers who neither made nor repaired shoes.

Hackers have struck Zappos, the online shoe retailer, putting at risk the sensitive information from its database of 24 million customers.

Its main business, since divesting itself of its trademark five-and-dime outlets, is athletic shoes, and competition from other shoe retailers has hurt sales.

Most shoe retailers need quantity, said Fawn Evenson, president of the association's footwear division.

Zappos, which started out as an online shoe retailer but now sells clothing and accessories, was sold to Amazon for more than $1bn (£650m) in 2009.