[8] Hannah originally planned to relocate to the United States but chose to move to Wellington instead.

[11] In addition to his shop on Leeds Street, Hannah also had two factories on Lambton Quay at different times.

[3][6] During the start of the Great Depression, Hannah reportedly put in his own orders to his factory to keep staff in employment.

[4] The Napier and Hastings stores were destroyed in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake,[11] along with a new shipment of English shoes and other stock.

[11] William Hannah was visiting his accountant at the time; the two men grabbed each other and made it out of the three-storey YMCA building they were in without injury.

[13] William initially lived in a tent outside the house as he no longer trusted being inside a building.

[11] A few years later he returned to Hawke's Bay, living in a tent while he rebuilt the business in Napier and Hastings.

[4] During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hannahs stated to stock a range of international footwear and accessory brands, including Hush Puppies, Steve Madden, Ipanema x Gisele Bundchen, Kardashian Kollection handbags, Truth or Dare by Madonna and Keds.

[4] In 2005, Hannahs owner Hellaby Holdings purchased Number 1 Shoe Warehouse for $22 million.

In November of that year, it signed its first New Zealand supply deal with Christchurch gumboot manufacturer Sandford Industries.

It had 50 stores and was the country's largest retailer of international footwear brands such as Clarks, Hush Puppies and Keds.