Allen Edmonds is an American upscale men's shoe company based in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The company was established in

Belgium, Wisconsin Belgium is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located along Interstate 43, the village is one of the northernmost communities in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 2,245 at the 2010 census. Beginning in th ...

, in 1922 by Elbert W. Allen as Allen-Spiegal Shoe Company. The company is one of the few companies to maintain manufacturing in the U.S. and has been the choice for every U.S. president on inauguration day from

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

History

In 1922, Elbert Allen began crafting men's shoes by hand in Belgium, Wisconsin, but did not know how to effectively sell his shoes. In 1931, Allen partnered with Bill Edmonds, a salesman, and formed the Allen Edmonds Corporation. Allen ran the company until he died in 1946 and the company was passed onto Allen's son, Elbert "Bert" Allen, Jr. Upon Bert's death in 1968, the company was handed down to Bert's younger brothers. In 1980, the company was sold out of the Allen family to John Stollenwerk, who was committed to continuing the Allen family's history of American production. Allen Edmonds gained much of its following after providing shoes to the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with many of the recipients of the shoes being loyal to the brand for the rest of their lives.Aaron Nathans Allen-Edmonds Keeps Its Shoes on an American Factory Floor
''

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'', May 29, 2004. In 2006, 90% of the shares in the company were bought by

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

-based investment firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison for $100 million. In 2013, the company announced that it would be acquired by private equity firm

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. In December 2016,

Caleres Caleres Inc. is an American footwear company that owns and operates a variety of footwear brands. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. With more than ninety-eight per cent of shoes sold in the U.S. being produced overseas, Allen Edmonds is among a small minority of companies producing shoes domestically. John Stollenwerk, Allen-Edmonds's retired chairman and former owner was committed to keeping manufacturing in the U.S. In 2003, the company invested $1 million (1.1% of sales) to refit their factory to save 5% on production of each shoe. Its assembly lines were replaced with teams of craftsmen, allowing reduced overtime, more ease in covering for absent employees, and fewer manufacturing imperfections. In 2006, concerned with rising manufacturing costs and ambitions to compete in the

boat shoe Boat shoes (also known as deck shoes) are typically canvas or leather with non-marking rubber soles designed for use on a boat. A siping pattern is cut into the soles to provide grip on a wet deck; the leather construction, along with the applic ...

and hand-sewn market, Allen Edmonds closed its

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, manufacturing plant and moved its hand-sewn production to a new, company-owned factory in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Shoe uppers for the Allen Edmonds hand-sewn collection are cut and sewn in the Dominican Republic; raw materials are sent from the U.S. for sewing, then shipped to Port Washington, Wisconsin for completion. The Horween Leather Company supplies leather shells for Allen Edmonds. Allen Edmonds offers recrafting services to refurbish its shoes, which includes replacing soles and heels; creating a new cork base and strip; and reapplying finish.StyleFile: Taking care of business women
'' The Denver Post'', March 19, 2009. The company recrafts 26,000 pairs of shoes each year and has recrafted one million pairs since the program's inception. The company states a pair of its shoes can be recrafted about four times before it should be retired. As of 2022, Allen Edmonds employs 135 craftspeople, many of which are 2nd and 3rd-generation makers, and has an apprentice program to train new generations of craftspeople. Each shoe goes through a 212-step process and will see up to 60 different craftspeople before the shoe is completed.

History

References

See also