David H. Russell (June 3, 1944 – July 7, 2021) was an Evansville-area businessman, entrepreneur, and ordained Baptist minister best known as the founder of Shoe Carnival, the national footwear retailer that began as a single shoe store in Evansville, Indiana.
Russell’s story is one of Evansville’s notable business success stories. Beginning as a shoe salesman, he developed a radically different idea for how shoes could be sold, opened his own store in Evansville in 1978, and helped build the business that eventually became the publicly traded Shoe Carnival chain.
Early Life
David H. Russell was born on June 3, 1944, in Madisonville, Kentucky, the son of Jeffrey H. Russell and Ruth Anderson Russell. He grew up in the Evansville area and attended Benjamin Bosse High School.
Religion was also an important part of Russell’s life. He attended seminary school and became an ordained Baptist minister. He was a longtime member of Vann Avenue Baptist Church in Evansville.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, however, Russell spent years learning the shoe business from the ground up.
From Shoe Salesman to Entrepreneur
Russell worked as a salesman for Kinney Shoes, part of a once-prominent national shoe-store chain.
Shoe retailing at the time was considerably different from the self-service stores familiar to modern shoppers. A salesperson typically greeted customers, measured their feet, went into a stockroom to retrieve boxes, fitted the shoes, and worked on commission.
Russell became convinced that there was a better way.
Rather than hiding most of the merchandise in a back room, he envisioned a store where customers could see thousands of shoe boxes, browse for themselves, hear music, find bargains, and have fun while shopping.
In 1978, at approximately 34 years old, Russell left the traditional shoe business and opened his own store in Evansville, Indiana.
He called it Shoe Biz.
Shoe Biz
The original Shoe Biz was unlike a conventional shoe store.
Shoes were placed on self-service racks, allowing customers to browse through boxes themselves instead of waiting for a salesperson to retrieve every pair.
But Russell went much further than self-service.
Music played inside the store, including songs from jukeboxes. Managers could get on the store’s public-address system and announce unexpected discounts and limited-time deals.
The atmosphere was intentionally energetic.
Russell wasn’t simply trying to sell shoes. He wanted shopping for shoes to feel like entertainment.
The idea worked.
Strong sales allowed Russell to expand. A second Evansville store was opened under the name Shoe Shower, and another store was established across the Ohio River in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The stores eventually came together under the concept that would make Russell nationally successful:
Shoe Carnival.
Creating the Shoe Carnival Experience
The name perfectly described the experience Russell and the company were developing.
A Shoe Carnival wasn’t supposed to feel like an ordinary shoe store.
Customers could hear music while shopping. Employees announced sudden specials over microphones. Managers were given unusual freedom to make deals. Promotions, games, prizes and giveaways created a sense that something unexpected might happen while a customer was inside the store.
Some promotions became particularly memorable.
At one point, the Owensboro store reportedly gave away a cow. An Evansville location held a promotion in which a customer received $25,000 in cash.
The stores also became known for features such as the Spin-‘n-Win wheel, which could trigger discounts or prizes for customers who happened to be shopping at the right moment.
Elements of this concept survived long after Russell’s original stores disappeared. The microphone announcements, limited-time specials and carnival atmosphere became defining characteristics of Shoe Carnival stores around the country.
Growth of the Company
By 1984, Russell’s operation had grown to three stores and was reportedly generating approximately $8 million in annual sales.
The unusual Evansville shoe chain soon attracted attention from much larger figures in the footwear industry.
In 1986, Russell sold a controlling interest in the company to Fisher-Camuto Corporation, associated with shoe executives Jerome “Jack” Fisher, Vince Camuto and J. Wayne Weaver.
Russell did not simply walk away from the business he had created. He remained involved with the company and continued overseeing its operations.
In 1989, J. Wayne Weaver acquired control of Shoe Carnival with Russell’s assistance. Weaver and Russell continued expanding the chain.
What had started as one unconventional Evansville shoe store was becoming a major regional retailer.
Shoe Carnival Goes Public
One of Russell’s major ambitions was to see the company become publicly traded.
That happened in 1993, when Shoe Carnival, Inc. went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
By the end of the following year, Shoe Carnival had grown to 87 stores in 15 states.
The company also continued investing heavily in its Evansville operations, including its headquarters and distribution infrastructure.
Russell had gone from selling shoes one customer at a time to helping create a publicly traded retail corporation with stores spread across the United States.
He retired from Shoe Carnival in 1997.
An Evansville Company
For decades, Shoe Carnival was particularly notable in Evansville because it wasn’t simply a national chain that happened to operate stores in the city.
It was created here.
Its corporate operations and distribution facilities became a significant part of the Evansville business community, while the Shoe Carnival name became recognizable far beyond Southwestern Indiana.
The company’s growth placed Russell among a relatively small group of Evansville entrepreneurs who created a locally founded business that developed into a nationally recognized brand.
Personal Life
Russell founded the business with the support of his wife, Kathy Russell, and his obituary credited the couple together with venturing into the business that became Shoe Carnival.
Despite his success in retail, Russell maintained strong connections to his faith and family.
He was an ordained Baptist minister and a lifelong member of Vann Avenue Baptist Church. In retirement, he enjoyed spending time along the Gulf Coast and made Destin, Florida, a second home.
He was also remembered for his sense of humor and his enjoyment of playing pool.
Death
David H. Russell died on July 7, 2021, at the Linda E. White Hospice House in Evansville.
He was 77 years old.
Legacy
David Russell’s legacy can be seen in one of Evansville’s most unlikely national success stories.
In 1978, he opened a small local shoe store called Shoe Biz because he believed the traditional way of selling shoes could be improved.
His idea was simple but unusual for its time: put the shoes where customers could reach them, make shopping entertaining, play music, announce spontaneous bargains, give managers freedom to make deals, and turn an ordinary shopping trip into an event.
That idea eventually became Shoe Carnival.
From one Evansville store, the company expanded across the United States and became publicly traded on NASDAQ.
For Evansville, Russell’s story is an example of a locally created idea becoming a nationally recognized business while retaining deep roots in the city where it began.
Quick Facts
- Full name: David H. Russell
- Born: June 3, 1944
- Birthplace: Madisonville, Kentucky
- Died: July 7, 2021
- Age at death: 77
- Evansville connection: Attended Bosse High School and built his career in Evansville
- Occupation: Businessman, entrepreneur, shoe retailer and ordained Baptist minister
- Known for: Founder of Shoe Carnival
- First store: Shoe Biz
- Founded: 1978
- Founded in: Evansville, Indiana
- Former employer: Kinney Shoes
- Religious affiliation: Vann Avenue Baptist Church
- Shoe Carnival IPO: 1993
- Retired: 1997
See Also
- Shoe Carnival
- Bosse High School
- Vann Avenue Baptist Church
- Evansville Businesses
- People of Evansville
- History of Evansville
Sources
- Boone Funeral Home — Obituary for David H. Russell
- Evansville Living — The Living Record: David H. Russell
- Encyclopedia.com — Shoe Carnival Inc.
- FundingUniverse — History of Shoe Carnival Inc.