Missing the
Allen Edmonds Patriot loafers. Lots of complaints that there were to narrow and
painful in the beginning, but who cares ? You can always ask your butler or footman
to wear them for a couple of months in order to ‘soften’ them up. (Ah, ah )
JEEVES
Founded in
1922, Allen Edmonds is one of the most well-known names in American-made shoes.
The company, which is based in Wisconsin, has a huge selection of handcrafted,
often Goodyear welted shoes in all styles, sizes, and designs. Although their
most popular shoes are lace-ups like the famous Park Avenue oxfords, Allen
Edmonds makes a great range of high-quality loafers.
Most Allen
Edmonds loafers are priced from $200 to $400, although select models in
cordovan are occasionally priced at $500 or more. You can occasionally find
many of the most popular Allen Edmonds loafers for under $200 on Amazon.com.
The company also runs annual discount sales where seconds (usual shoes with
slight cosmetic damage) can be purchased at reasonable discounts.
Allen
Edmonds is an American upscale shoe manufacturing and retail company based in
Port Washington, Wisconsin. The company was established in Belgium, Wisconsin
in 1922.
As of the
end of 2017, Allen Edmonds operates some 78 stores, an increase from 2006, when
it had 18 stores. It manufactures its shoes in the United States, as well as in
Italy and the Dominican Republic.
In 2006,
90% of the shares in the company were bought by Minneapolis-based investment
firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison for $100 million. In 2013, the company
announced that it would be acquired by private equity firm Brentwood
Associates. In December 2016, Caleres acquired Allen Edmonds from Brentwood
Associates for $255 million.
The
President is Malcolm Robinson, Robinson previously was an executive at One
Jeanswear Group, Tommie Copper and Phillips Van Heusen.
Allen
Edmonds gained much of its following after providing shoes to the US Army and
US Navy during World War II, with many of the recipients of the shoes being
loyal to the brand for the rest of their lives.
Allen
Edmonds is a moderately expensive brand of shoes that men typically wear for a
very long time and repair rather than replace. The company offers recrafting
services, rebuilding a pair of shoes for a fee, replacing soles and heels,
creating a new cork base and strip, and reapplying the finish.[8] The Horween
Leather Company supplies leather shells for footwear to Allen Edmonds.
Manufacturing
As more
than ninety-eight per cent of shoes sold in the U.S. are produced overseas,
Allen Edmonds is among a small minority of companies that produces shoes
domestically.[12] John Stollenwerk, Allen-Edmonds's retired chairman and former
owner expressed a commitment to keep manufacturing in the U.S. In 2003, the
company invested one million dollars—1.1% of the company's sales—in refitting
their factory, which is intended to save 5% of the cost to produce each shoe.
The factory has replaced assembly lines with teams of craftsmen of which each
member performs several tasks. The new system reduces overtime, makes it easier
to cover for absent employees, reduces the time spent picking up and putting
down shoes, and reduces the number of spoiled shoes.
In 2006,
concerned with rising manufacturing costs and endeavoring to compete more
directly with the boat shoe and handsewn market, Allen Edmonds discontinued
their Lewiston, Maine manufacturing plant and moved the handsewn production to
their new, company owned factory in the Dominican Republic. Currently, shoe uppers
for the Allen Edmonds handsewn collection are cut and sewn in the Dominican
Republic. The raw materials are sent there from the U.S., where the uppers are
sewn together, then shipped to the factory in Port Washington, Wisconsin to
complete their construction, thus allowing them to be labeled "Made in the
USA." Alternatively, styles from the "ae by Allen Edmonds"
collection are produced entirely in and sold as Made in the Dominican Republic.
In addition to their handsewn collection, Allen Edmonds also utilizes the
Dominican Republic factory to cut and sew the uppers of their Goodyear welted
collection of shoes. Similarly to the "American Made" handsewns,
these welted uppers are shipped to the factory in Wisconsin, where the
remainder of the lasting, welting, and soling are completed.
No comments:
Post a Comment