A Stitch Above

A great thing about the record sales growth at Allen Edmonds since the “Great Recession” is that we have roughly doubled manufacturing employment at our Wisconsin factory.  When a new hire tells you, “This job is the difference between my daughter going to college and not going to college,” that’s a good feeling.  With new stores across the country, burgeoning online business and, most important, the amazing loyalty of our customers … our U.S. employment is now the highest it has been in our company’s 91 year history.

Just like with shoes, less than 2% of the apparel bought in the U.S. today was made in this country.  Since regaining our footing in 2010, our team’s long-term goal has been the evolution of Allen Edmonds into a broader men’s lifestyle brand.   We’ve believed that the values for which Allen Edmonds is renown – i.e. eye-catching handcrafted quality, superior customer service, an unrivaled price/value ratio, and a dogged determination to grow USA manufacturing – will be welcomed in clothing as well as shoes by busy men who desire those qualities across their entire wardrobes but have little time to search for them.

So, we’re proud to launch our curated collection of men’s clothing, including sport coats, vests, sweaters, shirts and pants. These are just the first of several waves of seasonal offerings going forward. Along with these products, we are also launching exciting collections of leather bags inspired by some of our top selling shoes, such as the Park Avenue, McTavish and Neumok, and a substantial broadening of our belts and small leather goods offerings. The clothing, belts and leather goods collections represent our continuing commitment to Made in USA and American employment growth. We’ve partnered with manufacturers across America – in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Minnesota, California, New York, Florida and, of course, Wisconsin to craft exquisite and timeless pieces right here – between the earth’s two largest oceans, not across them.

We’re also excited to premier our new brand identity. As we move forward with an expanded product line and broader vision, we needed to refresh our brand. That’s why we’re introducing a new crest featuring the year Allen Edmonds was founded, 1922.

The crest harkens to our strong heritage and our special authenticity as American designers and manufacturers. Through the passion and dedication of our people – customers and employees alike – we’re still here, standing for what we’ve always stood for. The cobbler’s hammer references our dedication to excellent craftsmanship and to our core identity as world-class men’s shoemakers. Placed dominantly in the center of the crest, the hammer signifies that Allen Edmonds will always lead with great shoes! Our tagline “An American Original” is a reflection of both our company and our customers, who are originals in the way they lead in their lives.

You can expect to see this renewed identity in everything we do. And you can expect more seasonal product offerings from Allen Edmonds as we continue to grow, at the product quality and service level that you’ve come to expect from us.

Thank you for your continued support.

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

An Investment in the Man You Will Be

My wife, Margot, is part of a group of volunteer tutors at our local high school.  They work with kids who are mostly from challenged home situations and having serious difficulty in school.  It’s a high-powered group of women doing the tutoring and they take it very seriously.  One woman studied the entire Chemistry textbook night after night to be able to help her student.  Margot, an English major in college, does some math and mostly helps on composition and literature classes, sometimes intervening with teachers on papers turned in late.  The kids often don’t commit to the tutoring all that much, which frustrates the tutors to no end.

There were two young men, though, who started to understand that education is like life – you only get out of it what you put into it.  Both of these guys wanted to get their grades up to the level at which they’d be eligible to play college football.  With little time left in the year and serious ground to make up, graduation suddenly became something to work for … and they made it! To congratulate them – their names are Deon and Matt – Margot took them to the Allen Edmonds store to be fitted for new shoes.  They were amazed that she’d do this and they took the fitting and the choice of shoe style very seriously.  Matt chose a pair of Strands and Deon – a lineman with very wide feet – went for some Waltons.  At check-out, Margot told them, “I want you to think of these shoes as an investment in the man you will be.”  Both Matt and Deon seemed to get as much out of that sentence as they had out of a year’s worth of tutoring.  They promised to wear their shoes proudly at Graduation, which they did, and to keep them in good shape for when they leave college for the working world.  They took their game up a level right before Margot’s eyes that day.  Their appreciation made us all realize once again the value of helping youth… and of a pair of great shoes!

At Allen Edmonds, we’re seeing a major surge in younger men as customers.  College graduates today seem to understand, way better than I did at 22, the impact of a good pair of shoes and an overall strong personal presentation – in the job market and everywhere else.  We have thousands of fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter, for example.  My email inbox and participation on e-community forums like “Reddit” show that Allen Edmonds is a shoe of choice for younger men of intelligence and aspiration.  It somehow gives me greater faith in the future.

This week, across the nation we’ll celebrate the founding of the United States of America.  The legacy that the Founding Generation passed on to us is truly amazing:  a great and complex gift and a tremendous responsibility.  It’s good to see that the coming generation will carry the legacy forward with enthusiasm, optimism and drive – and in a really good pair of shoes.

Happy 4^th of July, everyone!

Paul D. Grangaard

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

While unseasonable snow and hail storms absolutely ruin Spring hopes for many parts of the country, the weather in Georgia yesterday was like high summer up north.  A few colleagues and I had the pleasure of escaping winter’s return and joining tens of thousands of pilgrims on the trek to Augusta.  Truly, The Masters each year must be like the great pilgrimages of history.  Believers come from all over the world, dressed in golf shirts showing logos from home courses listed on Golf Digest’s Top 100, or they wear Masters attire purchased in years past that shows their devotion to the Faith.  They descend en masse on an otherwise quiet city, tying up traffic for miles and marching in perfect step and long lines toward hallowed gates, to see the best golfers in the world compete for the championship they most want to win.  It's an impressive scene.   

Come to think of it…. I’m sure Chaucer could write an incredible Canterbury Tales sequel about this.  For his “Augusta Tales” he could just recycle his CT Prologue, with its indelible description of the earth’s re-birth, as April pierces the drought of March to the root.  All he would have to do is change the “tendre croppes” reference to Azaleas, and add in astoundingly perfect turf, and it’d be good to go.  This year, the "Secretary of State's Tale" and the "The 14 Year Old's Magical Mystery Tour" would be among the best stories, I'd bet. 

Yesterday was especially unforgettable for the Allen Edmonds sojourners. Colin Hall (our SVP of Marketing, Golf and International) and Jim Kass (our SVP of Operations) and I waited patiently (why would we not?) at a sun-soaked table, behind the ropes around the back of the world-renowned clubhouse, for Jack Nicklaus to finish speaking with the 14 year old Chinese phenom who qualified for this year's Masters. The prodigy was seeking wisdom from The Oracle of the Six Green Jackets.  After their conversation about how to play key shots on the course, and after several pictures of the boy's family with Jack – Andy O’Brien, our host and everyday partner in our relationship with Nicklaus Companies, ushered us into the living room of Jack's cabin for the week. Barbara was there, son Steve checked in to drop off purchases from the ANGC pro shop, son Gary came in with a couple of his kids to say hello to Grandpa… and we sat down with Jack to talk for over an hour! Instead of a quick meet and greet, it was all about soles, no-tie laces, golf swing support requirements, Jack's view of the future of golf shoes, shoe construction, lightweight materials and the challenges of finding a perfect-fitting golf glove. Now I know how he remembers his championship rounds across the decades shot-by-shot. The man has incredible attention to detail and extreme standards of excellence. 

We presented Jack with three of our new golf hats with the icon of his "Yes Sir!" birdie putt on 17 in  1986, without any expectation that he would wear one of them.  For years, he has worn a "Golden Bear" logo hat at his appearances.  But his grandson took one of the three for himself to wear, Gary grabbed another, and then (to Andy's surprise) Jack said he'd wear the third for the Par 3 Tournament.  It was a white hat with a blue “Jack on 17” logo. He joked, "I'm always wearing a black hat in some people's eyes when I play with Arnie, so I'll wear the white hat today."  I chuckled at how the good friends still compete so intensely -- Jack at 73 and Arnie 10 years older.  Jack also wore our green and white "Muirfield Village" golf shoes that we've developed together over the past 18 months.

Andy O'Brien and I met later in the afternoon to head to the Par 3 course, where we bumped into Golf Digest's Mr. Fashion -- Marty Hackel.  It was Marty who first introduced Andy, Colin and me to each other two years ago, which set our relationship with Andy and Jack in motion.  After the Par 3 Contest introductions and opening tee shots, Andy headed off to catch his plane back to Florida and I was able to watch the Big Three (Gary Player, too) play the first three holes before I, too, had to leave for home to get back to work. 

While waiting at the airport, my wife called and let me know that she had just heard on TV someone yell: "Cool logo, Jack!" to him.   She also alerted me that our other great partner in our foray in to the golf business -- Ben Crenshaw -- had made a Hole-in-One during the Contest.  Ben represents us on the Honors Collection – the classic, and more traditional spiked golf shoes that he prefers.  Very appropriately for golf’s greatest historian and keeper of the traditions of the game, Ben was wearing our LEGENDS model shoe as his high wedge spun out of the ballmark and perfectly followed the sloping contour of the green to drop into the front of the cup.  It was a great ending to the day for me, and a great start to the tournament for Ben.

Here are links to the Par 3 Contest Highlights videos…

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/masters/live?ttag=ML13_cspt_slivtun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxu_lEH0Wes
 

And here’s hoping Spring comes soon for all of us who can’t wait for Winter 2013 to end

Paul

Paul D. Grangaard

 

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

Think about the polarized objectives inherent in a modern golf shoe.  We avid golfers want:

·         Great traction for those side-hill lies on wet grass, but no dents or scuff marks on the greens.

·         Serious support and stability for an aggressive rip at the ball, but lightweight comfort over a 3-5 hour walk.

·         Styling that looks athletic and updated, but respects the traditions of the game.

·         Waterproof technology that locks out water, but high quality leathers that look classic, breathe and take a shoeshine.

 

As you see, it’s not an easy formula.  Golf course superintendents around the U.S., whose jobs depend on preserving smooth putting surfaces that roll at 11-14 on the stimpmeter, lament the way aggressive new “soft” spikes and other aspects of “techno-traction soles” leave thousands more marks and much greater green damage than the old 11 point metal spikes that were outlawed long ago.  Many “spikeless” shoes have hard plastic nubs on them that also damage greens worse than metal spikes ever did.

Then there’s the styling, support, comfort and “leathers” of most new shoes.  Who really wants to see a golf shoes look more and more like skateboarding or NBA basketball shoes?   Are we running a marathon out there, or are we looking to swing aggressively at the ball and get the distance we need?

So, since a bunch of us in the management of Allen Edmonds are avid golfers and we wanted to “bring classic back” to the time-honored game, we thought there’d be one man uniquely qualified to partner with us – golf’s greatest champion, Jack Nicklaus.  Working closely with Jack throughout the design and testing of our new golf shoes, we think we’ve come up with the best answer to the contradictions on the market today.  Let us know what you think….  Here’s the link to our Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf by Allen Edmonds page on our website.

http://www.allenedmonds.com/jack

Hit it long and straight (but don’t scuff up the greens)!

Paul D. Grangaard

 

President & CEO

Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

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