Comfort Shoe Parent to Trotters and Softwalk Set to Cease Operations

by · WWD
Bueno Footwear, from Phoenix Footwear Group.Courtesy of Phoenix Footwear Group

Phoenix Footwear Group is set to cease operations over the next 60 days.

That’s the latest update for the parent of the Softwalk and Trotters comfort shoe brands, according to a post by Allison Hannon on LinkedIn. Phoenix also owns Bueno Footwear, which it acquired in 2017. The 144-year-old Carlsbad, Calif.-based firm is also the U.S. distributor for the Los Cabos and Eos shoe brands.

The company began operations under the name Daniel Green Company, known for its slippers and comfort footwear. In 1999, it shut down a manufacturing plan in Upstate New York and began outsourcing production. In 2000, it acquired Penobscot Shoe company, which owned the Trotters and Softwalk brands. Penobscott was founded in 1935 under the name Philco Shoe Co. The company has long had a foothold in the Maine community through its Penobscott acquisition where a facility handles warehousing and distribution.

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The Daniel Green brand was sold to Elan-Polo Inc. in 2001, and the Daniel Green Company was renamed Phoenix Footwear Group in 2002 after it was reincorporated following the sale of the Daniel Green brand. Shoe production for Trotters and Softwalk is primarily produced in Brazil, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in 2004.

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Shares of Phoenix Footwear, which once traded on the New York Stock Exchange, moved to over-the-counter trading in 2011 due to its small market capitalization. The shares moved to the Pink OTC Market in 2025, which is the highly speculative tier in the OTC Markets. Also known as the Pink Sheets, this tier includes distressed stocks that do not need to provide ongoing financial reporting.

There has been an increased focus on comfort footwear, such as for work boots, and even for cushioned road-running sneakers to orthopedic mary janes. But even with that focus, there’s no indication for what the future will be for the Softwalk, Trotters, and Bueno brands.

A visit to the Trotters.com site said “We are temporarily pausing Trotters.com,” noting that the notice “isn’t goodbye. It’s simply a pause in the online journey.” The Softwalk website posted a similar message. Over at the Bueno website, where the shoes are handmade in Turkey, it also noted that it was suspending online sales, but did not state that the suspension was a pause. “Thank you for being part of our journey,” the site said, indicating that the shutdown might be the end of the road for Bueno Footwear.