The Brown Shoe Case

Abstract

IN 1956, Brown Shoe Co. purchased G. R. Kinney. Both firms were engaged in the production and distribution of shoes. The acquisition was challenged by the Department of Justice and ultimately found to violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The Department of Justice argued that the merger was a "classic example in both its vertical and horizontal aspects of the type of merger Section 7 . . .was intended to prevent."' The courts