About

     In the United States there are 364 stores that operate under the name of DSW, Designer Shoe Warehouse.  DSW is a shoe store that targets me and women in the fashion industry.  They are currently operating in 41 states across the Midwest and Northeastern United States.  DSW opened its first doors July 1991 in Dublin, Ohio.

Jerome M. Schottenstein

     DSW originated from the Schottenstein family and their corporate empire that they built.  The corporate structure started in 1917 with the E.L. Schottenstein Department Store, which was also located in Dublin, Ohio.  In 1946 Jerome M. Schottenstein took over the family business and turned it into Schottenstein Stores Corporation in 1972.  This corporation started to be commonly known to the people located in Columbus, Ohio, but outside Columbus, it was something greater.  Many people knew this retail chain as Value City Department Stores.  These stores were known to sell various types of merchandise, mainly apparel, at discounted prices.  In between this time frame, in 1969 the Schottenstein's family joined the Nachts family to form the Shonac Corporation.  The Shonac Corp. helped the company by managing the leased shoe departments of Value City and other retailers. 

     In the coming years the Schottenstein retail empire continued to have great success in the retail industry.  In June 1991 Schottenstein's Stores Corp. decided to go public and sell about half of their company to investors.  A month later the Designer Shoe Warehouse was created from the Schottenstein Stores Corp. as a subsidiary from Shonac Corp.