Merrell
Merrell was established in 1981 when two executives for the Rossignol ski company, Clark Matis and John Schweizer, decided to launch a new maker of hiking boots. The pair decided to join forces with Randal Ivan Merrell (R.I. Merrell), a maker of highly praised custom boots which retailed for $500 a pair. Matis set to work designing a more affordable high-performance boot, the Moab, which was developed in 1982. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of shoe industry giant Wolverine World Wide.
