founded 1922 1922 in belgium wisconsin united states key people paul grangaard ceo website www.allenedmonds.com allen edmonds is an upscale shoe manufacturing and retail company based in port washington wisconsin . the company was established in belgium wisconsin in 1922 . allen edmonds operates 52 retail stores in 28 states . citation needed it manufactures its shoes in the united states as well as in italy and the dominican republic . allen edmonds along with e. vogel oliver moore bootmakers alden johnston & murphy rancourt & co and esquivel are the handful of manufacturers still making men s dress shoes in the us . the company delivers numerous collections of men s shoes including dress shoes dress casual shoes loafers casual and golf shoes . 1 in 2006 90 % of the shares in the company were bought by minneapolis based investment firm goldner hawn johnson & morrison for 100 million . 2 3 in 2013 the company announced that it would be acquired by private equity firm brentwood associates . 4 the ceo is former investment banker paul grangaard . 5 contents 1 history 2 manufacturing 3 labor policy 4 references history edit 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 . 6 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 . 7 the horween leather company supplies leather shells for footwear to allen edmonds . 8 9 10 manufacturing edit pair of shoes from allen edmonds shoe company 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 . 11 john stollwerk 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 . 6 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 . 12 currently shoe uppers for the allen edmonds handsewn collection are cut and sewn in the dominican republic . 13 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 . labor policy edit allen edmonds pays their workers well which puts them at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace . wages benefits government regulations of the workplace emissions permits taxes and healthcare are all significant costs that could be drastically reduced by locating production overseas in a developing country . stollenwerk remarked that moving the operation to china could save as much as 60 % but expressed concern that such a move could lead to a decline in quality . he also expressed concerns about social problems brought on by globalization such as low wages and factory closings in the u.s. 6 references edit allen edmonds loafers . toploafers.com . retrieved 2016 05 21 . us goldner hawn buys majority of allen edmonds just style.com jul. 21 2006 . rick romell port shoe firm sold investors pay 100 million for allen edmonds milwaukee journal sentinel jul. 21 2006 . kell john november 5 2013 . deal struck for men s shoemaker . the wall street journal . p. b2 . kimberly a. whitler forbes.com ceo paul grangaard on the allen edmonds turnaround a great american comeback story may 3 2015 a b c aaron nathans allen edmonds keeps its shoes on an american factory floor new york times may 29 2004 . stylefile taking care of business women the denver post march 19 2009 . a brief history horween leather company . horween.com . retrieved march 28 2013 . horween leather company . encyclopedia.com . retrieved march 26 2013 . rolek barbara october 27 2003 . horween s leather bound by tradition . chicago tribune . retrieved march 27 2013 . wilson eric april 20 2011 . at their feet crafted by hand . the new york times . shoesonline.xyz history of allen edmonds shoes kirchen rich april 29 2007 . allen edmonds to open shop offshore . v t e footwear men s dress shoes blucher brogues brothel creepers derby monks oxfords slip ons loafers spectator shoes co respondent shoes venetian style shoes winklepickers wholecuts women s dress shoes ballet flats court shoes high heeled footwear mary janes mojari mules peep toe shoes saddle shoes slingbacks slip ons loafers venetian style shoes winklepickers other shoes driving moccasins flip flops galoshes platform shoes sandals slides slippers veldskoens wooden footwear bakya british clogs cantabrian albarcas clogs getas klompen namaksin padukas 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mukluks opanaks peshawari chappals snowshoes valenkis warajis kolhapuri chappals historical footwear areni 1 shoes buskins caligae chopines crakow poulaine hessians pampooties pirate boots sabatons shoe construction bespoke shoes blake construction goodyear welt lists list of shoe styles retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title allen edmonds & oldid 742276297 categories shoe companies of the united statesshoe brandscompanies based in wisconsinmanufacturing companies based in wisconsin1922 establishmentshidden categories use mdy dates from may 2013all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from september 2015 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page 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