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Rack Room Shoes will expand its headquarters in Charlotte, investing $16 million and adding 87 jobs, the N.C. Department of Commerce announced Friday.
The expansion will allow the shoe retailer to move the headquarters of one of its subsidiaries, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, from Atlanta to Charlotte.
The company currently has a roughly 67,000-square-foot office building in the University City area. It will build another building of the same size and a 10,000-square-foot atrium to connect the two, Rack Room spokeswoman Brenda Christmon said.
“We’re creating one campus for both brands,” she said.
In addition to the 87 new jobs, Rack Room will also move some jobs to Charlotte from Atlanta. The average salary of the new jobs is expected to be about $70,000.
The company could be eligible for nearly $900,000 in state incentives should it meet job creation and other criteria.
Rack Room CEO Mark Lardie said in a statement that the company has “a vision to grow exponentially” and that it’s “thrilled” to expand its team in North Carolina.
“Our Charlotte headquarters gives us tremendous opportunity to recruit talented fashion industry executives, buyers and marketing professionals, while offering them a home in a city with a vibrant entertainment community and unrivaled quality of life,” he said.
Rack Room has 49 stores in North Carolina and employs about 150 at its corporate headquarters. Off Broadway has five locations in the state.
Rack Room Shoes was founded in 1920 in Salisbury. It was purchased by the privately held German shoe company Deichmann Group in 1984.
