About Us
FSW Shoe Warehouse is a third generation footwear business which started in 1927 with two brothers Tom and Jo Frawley who ventured from the big smoke of Sydney loaded with a truck full of shoes to a little country town called Queanbeyan just outside of Canberra ACT. Canberra having been declared the Capital was growing, and Tom and Jo thought they would see if they could sell some shoes and make a mark on footwear retail. They successfully sold all their shoes from the back of their truck and a new era in Australian footwear began!
Several years later two of Tom Frawley`s sons John and Ted Frawley started to work in the business and learn the ropes. Twenty-five years later John and Ted took over the business and this saw Frawley Bros grow into the second generation of footwear retail in Canberra ACT.
John and Ted employed all their children in the business over the years but three sons Gerard, Stephen and Michael (better known as `The Boys`) had a vision and a shoe box full of enthusiasm for the family business!
In 2000 `the boys` took the reins and started the third generation of the family business. After years of great training from their fathers and a sound knowledge of footwear retailing in Australia, the `boys` identified an opportunity to deliver to the shoppers of the ACT and surrounding areas a distinctive retail concept that would allow customers to browse, feel and try on at their leisure, quality footwear at a discounted price. As this was a new form of retail they also changed the name of the business from Frawley`s Shoes to FSW.
We often get asked what does FSW stand for, maybe it is Frawley Shoe Warehouse, or maybe it is Footwear Shoe Warehouse or to some we could also be Fashion Shoe Warehouse!
The first FSW Shoe Warehouse store opened in September 2002 and just like their Grandfathers the first store opened in Queanbeyan where the original business started 74 years earlier! The concept of FSW was to offer their customer base quality footwear and recognised brands at everyday discounted prices. It soon became apparent that the FSW concept was a hit with consumers in the ACT and four more stores in ACT were opened.
In 2004 `the Boys` took a risk and thought they would try the FSW Shoe Warehouse concept in regional NSW, and this saw the start of another new beginning to the business with the introduction of a fourth director Paul Smith who had years of footwear retail experience in Regional NSW.
From 2004 to 2009 FSW Shoe Warehouse opened another 8 stores across regional NSW, and now employee over 100 employees.
2010 has also being a busy year for FSW Shoe Warehouse with the opening of a new store in Canberra City in August 2010, and the opening of the FSW `Super Store` which is the largest independent shoe retailer under one roof in Australia in Alexandria Sydney! We have also launched FSW online, where our customers are able to buy an range of our great shoes on line.
Who would have thought that in 83 years the Frawley family could go from selling shoes from the back of a truck to 13 Stores and the virtual world of buying on line!