Super-hero shoes will be marketed both separately and together as a collection, building upon Brown Shoe's success in designing and marketing Spider-Man footwear -- one of the best selling boys' shoes in Spring 2002.

Brown Shoe will distribute footwear featuring super-hero images through major mass-market and footwear retailers starting in March 2003. The initial product launch will focus on athletic footwear, sandals and beach footwear. The line will expand in the fall to include boots and slippers. Targeted to boys and girls ages 3-7, super-hero footwear will be available in sizes 9-3.

Exposure for Marvel's characters is at an all-time high given the company's successful publishing business, toy lines and high-profile film and television projects. A Marvel movie run will begin this Valentine's Day with the release of Daredevil, followed by the X-Men sequel, X2, in May 2003 and The Hulk in June 2003. Spider-Man is also the star of the highly-rated animated series Spider-Man Unlimited airing on Fox Kids, and an animated series set to air on MTV this fall. Anticipation is also building for the Spider-Man movie sequel, planned for 2004.

"Spider-Man footwear captured the imagination of boys across the country, and the shoes became top sellers two months before the Spider-Man movie release," said Marci Ranger, director of children's marketing for Buster Brown & Co., the kids' division of Brown Shoe. "With Marvel's plans for other super-hero movies, it seemed like a great fit to also offer a super-hero shoe collection."

About Marvel Enterprises:

With a library of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel's operations are focused in four divisions: entertainment (Marvel Studios), licensing, toys (Toy Biz) and comic book publishing. Marvel facilitates the creation of entertainment projects, including feature films, television and DVD/home video, based on its characters and also licenses its characters for use in a wide range of consumer products and services including video and computer games, apparel, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created by its comic book division which continues to maintain a leadership position in the U.S. and worldwide while also serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property. For additional information visit the Marvel Web site at http://www.marvel.com.

Brown Shoe is a $1.76 billion footwear company with worldwide operations. The company operates the 920-store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for less. It also operates 400 Naturalizer stores in the U.S. and Canada that sell the Naturalizer brand of shoes and accessories. Brown Shoe, through its wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Connie, Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Dr. Scholl's and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie, Star Wars, Spider-Man and Bob-the-Builder character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the company's web site at http://www.brownshoe.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform 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.