General Financial Releases

BROWN SHOE COMPLETES NEW REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT, EXTENDS FINANCING CAPACITY TO SUPPORT OPERATING GROWTH

ST. LOUIS, December 5, 2000 -- Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) today announced the completion of a new $165 million revolving bank credit facility with several banks.

The three-year facility provides $165 million in committed working capital and letter of credit financing subject to certain borrowing tests. It can be extended for two additional years. It replaces an existing $155 million revolving credit line that was to expire January 2001. The new revolving credit facility is provided by a syndicate of eight banks and was arranged by Banc One Capital Markets, Inc. Agent banks for the facility include Bank One, N.A., Bank of America, N.A. and LaSalle Bank National Association. Interest on borrowings under the new credit agreement is at varying rates and at the company's option based on one of the following: the LIBOR rate, the Bank One, N.A. corporate base rate, or the Federal funds rate.

"This new facility provides us with increased financial flexibility to support investment in our operations as we work to grow revenue and earnings at Brown Shoe and to fund working capital requirements," said Chief Financial Officer Andrew Rosen. "We are pleased to partner with such strong and supportive banks in this process."

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These include general economic conditions, competition, consumer apparel and footwear buying trends, and political and economic conditions in Brazil and China, which are significant footwear sourcing countries. The Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission contain detailed information relating to such factors.

Brown Shoe is a $1.6 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The company operates the Famous Footwear and Naturalizer chains of footwear retail stores and markets leading brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, NightLife, Buster Brown, and licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's, Barbie, Digimon and RugRats character footwear.

Brown Shoe press releases are available by fax through PR Newswire's Company News On-Call fax service at 800-758-5804, extension 109435. Brown Shoe information also is available on the Company's web site at http://www.brownshoe.com