Shortly after the store's opening, it faced some setbacks and endured through several earthquakes and a fire.
"[2] In 2004, TWC was acquired by Big Dogs Holdings, Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California, and Andrew Feshbach became the CEO of the company.
[5][6] By 2015, The Walking Company had expanded to 212 mostly mall-based retail stores and a distribution center in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
On June 29 of that year, the company announced it was emerging from bankruptcy after receiving over $10 million in new equity, and was closing 23 of the 208 stores that were open at the time of the filing.
In 2009, the company developed ABEO, a selection of comfort footwear made with built-in or removable orthotics.