We’re heading toward March and all of the storied basketball and hockey tournaments around the country.  They are great distractions to make all of us in the north forget that winter is still dragging on and on, as our Spring Fever reaches acute levels. 

One of the advantages of AE’s Made in USA production is our ability to offer new shoe concepts at most any time of the year.  Another is how our head of production, Jim Kass, gets to use his creativity to make shoes nobody else had been thinking about. 

My son is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, which has been to the Rose Bowl in each of his first two years there.  Last year, his team faced Oregon, where one of his best friends had gone to school.  Jim had a great idea to make red and white shoes for my son and green and gold shoes for his buddy.  This year, my son had to deal with an intra-family rivalry as both his parents and his two sisters are Stanford alumni.  The trash talking was pretty fierce again. 

Jim again made colored shoes (cardinal red and black) for all of us and also for one of our board members, whose son plays on the Stanford team.  He also made some blue and gold pairs for friends of ours who are big Notre Dame fans.  The reaction from other fans to these shoes is always pretty astounding.  So….we thought we’d let you decide how you want to color some shoes to show your team spirit – or just to make some great-looking shoes. 

Have some fun with it.  We’ll get the shoes to you by mid-March, in plenty of time for the big face-offs and tip-offs.  You’ll be the talk of the town.

Go Team!

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO


Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Each New Year kicks off furiously in the footwear and apparel business. “After-Christmas Clearance” has become a major strategic shopping season unto itself for retailers; trade shows in Florence, New York, Orlando, Chicago and Vegas offer anticipatory looks at Fall Season fashions and a chance to showcase again what could be ordered last minute for Spring; department stores and independent clothiers shift their focus to their bigger plans for the new year (having been consumed by the Holidays for all ofQ4); and across the country people’s intensity turns back to work, after a month of reflections, reconnections and recreation. Combined with a few recent roundtable dinner discussions with friends who have some pretty big jobs in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, there’s also a lot of proprietary backward-looking and forward-looking information to process.

This year’s prognosticating has been unusually challenging, I think. The whole spectacle of continued fiscal crisis and dysfunction in Washington should be making for uncertainty that’s bad for business. Sales in our stores in mid-December seemed to indicate that the economy was headed for a “cliff-based” slowdown, while our “leaders” once again punted in their showdown. Other retailers were sharing the same longer term concern through the grapevine. Then January landed, and things have been going surprisingly well (knock on wood).

The consensus among my friends in senior roles in investment management, insurance, manufacturing, agribusiness, corporate finance and health insurance seems to be that the economy will continue to weather the stand-off in the Capitol, and will grow 3-4% in 2013 – with the Fed keeping interest rates mostly where they are, unemployment falling gradually and housing recovering distinctly. It seems, then, that retailers’ experience in December will continue throughout the year – with solid business interrupted by disconcerting spurts of negative momentum which, we hope, go away again.

In fashion, things are more easily predicted. The professional men’s wardrobe transformation that began a couple years ago continues. Multiple shades of brown shoes and wing tips of many kinds remain hugely popular for dress and casual situations. Special occasion dress is getting more dressy now. Pleated pants are out, flat fronts are in (I got called out for pleats myself this summer by younger members of the “Reddit” website community, when I had to post a picture of myself to confirm my identity). Overly generous sizings in pants, shirts and sweaters have given way to slimmer-fitting apparel. Vests, as a substitute for a sport coat, are also spreading at the office and social functions. And “pops” of brighter colors are seen in almost everything – from soles to shoelaces to socks, and to any kind of patterned shirts, ties, vests and blazers. You golfers out there can follow what’s happening by thinking of Ricky Fowler’s influence on PGA attire. Three years ago his orange, lime green and bright blues were unique outliers; last year they became mainstream, on and off the course. Bright colors – writ small and large – are seen all across the entire conservative to high fashion spectrum.

Finally, last night (1/19), the National Hockey League re-started their season after the owners locked-out the players for several months. This is very big news in my part of the world. So, I thought I’d finish with an update on “Allen Edmonds Arena”, about which I wrote a year ago. As I said then, many great brands have a sports facility named after them and, not to be outdone (but within our company budget), my hockey-crazy brother-in-law offered to christen his backyard rink “Allen Edmonds Arena”. He supplied the yard, the boards and the water, and we supplied the banner. My nephew, now 6, is scoring even more goals at AEA this year than last. The on-ice action has picked up speed and we had a great intra-family game over vacation with my sons and nephew taking on my brother-in-law and me. A friend of mine, who somehow hadn’t yet heard of the new sports facility in town, drove by their house and, surprised, snapped the attached photo.  

Here’s hoping 2013 does indeed bring lower unemployment, improving economic growth, continued strong business for Allen Edmonds and for all… and better weather for making outdoor ice.

Warm regards,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

It's that time of year again.  Men everywhere are being asked what they want under the tree and they're stumped -- totally speechless.  They can't name a thing.  (For many of us guys, it's the only question all year that we can't answer with complete certainty, if not necessarily a statement of fact.)  My dad always used to answer the Christmas List Question with, "Peace and quiet", which he never got.  So here's some advice on what to ask for, or what to give, this year...

My #1 pick in our shoe line is the new Patriot penny loafer. It's just a great fitting shoe with a real masculine look.  For the football fan, the Patriot in real football leather is an especially good option.  Our friends at the Horween tannery in Chicago are the sole supplier of that leather for Wilson's "Duke", which is the football that the NFL has used for decades, and we've now put it into our Patriot options.  I've been wearing a prototype of the football shoe this fall and getting a lot of good comments, from both men and women.
 

 

Another good shoe idea could include one of his favorite AE styles in our new Bourbon calfskin color.  Brown is all the rage in both dress and casual shoes these days -- great for wearing from suits to jeans -- and this new brown hue is strikingly cool.  When we introduced it to our internal team earlier this year they were unusually impressed.

 

Or get him a Timeless Classic shoe with our new V-tread sole, which we developed for guys who want a little more cushion and all-weather wearability.  It's amazing how a rubber pattern this compact can really add softness to the sole without changing the formality of the look.  Similarly, if he's a golfer, our Honors Collection golf shoes with the SLV sole ("SLV" = spikeless versatility) are terrific for on and off course wear.

 

 

Finally, in shoes, think about a pair of distressed leather wingtips to wear with cords, khakis and jeans.   Our McTavish style has been out for a little over a year and is already our 3rd bestselling shoe style.  We've never had a style jump into the top five that quickly after introduction.  It's available in two brand new colors of leather that look great from business casual to totally casual, from college kid to still-active mature adult.  Really, the shoe crosses the age spectrum like few before.  It gives the younger man a little mature savoir faire, and the older guy a look of slightly-hip relevance.  At Allen Edmonds, we think we understand that most men like to look updated and relevant without looking like they're trying too hard to follow fashion.  The McTavish hits the center of that bulls-eye across an unusually wide demographic.

 

If his blue blazer is getting a bit tired from overuse, try out one of our curated collection of sport coats.  Chosen by our lead designer whose career has been spent completely immersed in professional men's attire, we have three very classy but contemporary looks - a great blue and black pattern wool, a brown and black checked wool and a rich brown suede.  All three styles have been picked by a lot of men shopping for themselves over the past few weeks.

 

My favorite apparel item for a really good look is our new brown suede vest.  It's leather front and back, meant to be worn solo over a colored shirt with jeans or dark pants.  I wore my prototype to a casual dinner a couple weeks ago, and my friends immediately ordered one for their college-aged son.  We've got shirts that go with it, too, especially the blue chambray shirt.  And we have a new scarf for colder weather that is my personal all-time favorite.  It's made in the great woolen mills in northern Scotland of merino wool (soft and much better than cashmere when it gets wet) and this one is a demur version of that  intense blue color we've seen all summer on the Golf Channel.  It brightens up a black or gray overcoat or a brown leather jacket. 

 

For smaller boxes that Santa could fit into a stocking (or that make great gifts for esteemed colleagues), try our cufflinks collection.  Really, a guy should wear cufflinks now and then, and they should say something about him.  My game-used MLB baseball cufflinks -- with the actual laces down the middle -- get "those are so cool" comments every time I wear them.  My dark blue Fenway Park box seat cufflinks work for the most formal of occasions, but they secretly remind me of my first game in that storied park as a visiting eighth-grader, sitting just a few yards away from the great Yaz (and a few feet from a drunk yelling obscenities).   I like the Chicago CTA and San Francisco cable car tokens because they remind me of my days spent in those two great American cities.  The East India Company coins and Mercury Head Dime cuff links are perfect for the history buff.  We also have bottle openers made from bats used in MLB games and some great leather-bound books about golf, cocktail recipes and collected classy toasts.  They make great smaller gifts.  Nice leather wallets are always good, too, and ours are among the few still Made in USA.

 

Finally, if your recipient is often wearing some unflattering dime store reading glasses, get him a pair of stylish Eye-Bobs with some pizazz.  Most men over-40 don't realize (or want to admit) how much time they now spend wearing those things, or how the flimsy metal glasses say "I'm heading over the hill and fast".  He should spruce it up with Eye-Bobs, maybe a couple different pairs for variety.  They're affordable and it's not the end of the world if they get lost or crushed, as reading glasses often do.  If he's not a dime store kind of guy -- he shouldn't look like one across his face in every meeting.

 

So toggle between this blog and our website, or print it out and hand it to your family, or take it to one of our 40 stores across the U.S. and energize your festivities this year.

From all of us at Allen Edmonds ... we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday Celebrations of All Kinds, and Good Health, Happiness and Prosperity in the New Year!!!

Warm regards,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Greetings Allen Edmonds Family and Friends:

On October 4th in Milwaukee's Uihlein Hall, we celebrated Allen Edmonds’ 90th anniversary of its 1922 founding by Elbert Allen. It was quite an evening! Over 1500 people - including current and retired co-workers and their spouses, business partners, customers, school-aged musicians and the public - came from far and near to enjoy the festivities and a special performance of great American music by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The Governor even officially proclaimed October 4th as "Allen Edmonds 90th Anniversary Celebration Day".

Reaching 90 years as an independent company and an American manufacturer is an incredible accomplishment, especially considering that over 98% of the shoes sold in America today are made overseas. All of us at Allen Edmonds are so proud of our unique heritage and of the fact that in the past two years we’ve hired more than 200 new employees in our manufacturing plant and headquarters in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Provided below is a link to a short video of the event. For those of you who were able to attend, we hope the video captures some of the fun and memories. And, for those who could not make the evening, we hope you gain a sense of the overwhelming commitment and enthusiasm throughout Allen Edmonds in being your Great American Shoe Company.

Thank you for your support. Here’s to the next 90 years!

 

 

Warm regards,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

One of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines is: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." It’s from the famous  balcony scene in the Act II of Romeo and Juliet, of course.

 With all due respect to Shakespeare’s brilliance, I’m especially proud of the name of our fall sales event -- the “Rediscover America Sale”-- because it fits the occasion so well.  In addition to deep discounts on 13 shoe styles (one for each of the original colonies), we offer 14.92% (yes, that’s 1492) off all Allen Edmonds branded products in the store and on-line.  That includes belts, socks, silk ties, cotton shirts, shearling leather coats, and leather wallets, briefcases and carry-on bags.

 We’ve been doing some rediscovering of America on our own and have found U.S. manufacturers to make these products in partnership with our design team.   As you would expect from Allen Edmonds, and from American manufacturers, the quality is first rate and the value is unequaled.  We’ve eliminated the middle man by going directly to the manufacturers to develop these products – passing the resulting savings on to you.  So, in addition to the superior shoes and great belts you’ve come to expect from Allen Edmonds, check out the other products before the sale ends on Columbus Day.  You won’t be disappointed in the quality, the styling or the price.

There’s more good news in Rediscover America.  Apparel and leather goods production capacity is returning to our shores.  When we held the first Rediscover America Sale three years ago, there wasn’t nearly as much buzz about “Made in USA” in the apparel business as there is today, or as many producers to choose from.  Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a growing and continuous trend.  We intend to do our part to support American manufacturers as we grow our product line into apparel.  Our expanded plans for 2013 are taking shape and I can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.  It’s both fun and gratifying to sell great products that also build American jobs through their success. 

So, sorry Juliet – names do matter, at least sometimes.

Best Wishes,

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation