Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2016 - News, Pictures, Sizing, Accessories, Clothing, etc

[cc808314]



That's not bad. For some reason I thought shell boots were $725.
This has beenPaul's stated strategy for years. Not to try to convert CJ and Church customers, but to convert Ecco and Kenneth Cole customers.

I don't think AE has to worry about competing with Alden or Carmina. AE sells as many shoes in a day as Alden does in a month. They want to grow and expand. Alden wants to stay small and pure.

Apples and oranges, IMO

If they want to pursue that route, more power to them. It is dangerous waters to step in where cost/price pressures, customer churn and unpredictability are a constant threat. The increased sales volume is only good if you can maintain acceptable margins. Sadly, the outcomes are already showing. It would be unfortunate to see another great American company go down the drain.

 

[styleaudit91]

I don't fully buy the cost reduction to stay competitive theory that corporate America has been feeding the general public for a good while now. Of course, if you shift your target demographic to the Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Macy's crowds, which AE has done, and your goal is to put every men walking the face of the earth into a pair of walnut Strand, things will need to change. Today, AE is available at 30-40% discount year round, and they are clearly not competing with Alden or the lower- tier European manufacturers, but instead, Cole Haan and J & M. The person that is ready to pay $400 per pair, is very descerning when it comes down to quality, style, and value in general. After all, Alden and European manufacturers have done OK making higher end shoes, because they have stayed tuned to the needs of their core customer base. Just my 2 cents.

That's not bad. For some reason I thought shell boots were $725.
This has beenPaul's stated strategy for years. Not to try to convert CJ and Church customers, but to convert Ecco and Kenneth Cole customers.

I don't think AE has to worry about competing with Alden or Carmina. AE sells as many shoes in a day as Alden does in a month. They want to grow and expand. Alden wants to stay small and pure.

Apples and oranges, IMO

I was about to post something similar but saw this. I have a lot of respect for the boutique manufacturers like Alden, and aspire to own some of their products one day. But there is a lot to be said for AE who takes on the "big dog" Cole Haan's and JM who put a pretty shoe on the shelf at $100-125 and make probably massive margins and AE can still flourish in the same stores.

They sell a ton of Strands, in fact there are at least 5 people under 30 in my office with a pair. These people will grow their career, and will have an understanding and appreciation of quality that they would not gain if AE was a boutique player who can only be found if you are looking. One day when careers allow, their appreciation for quality may take them to Alden, C&J, or Lobb even (if they make partner). But they may never build that appreciation if they didn't have it presented in a high volume market such as a department store or one of their many indp. stores.

It's not improbable that this model will end up in acquisition at some point when their valuation is high enough and then they can be made by the same nameless factory in China down the road, and the C squad at AE rolls in the dough (well earned). Then we can all jump on the Alden train, and start their cycle down the same path 20-30 years from now.

Happy Saturday to all, this is what happens when I pop the second bottle of Cava and get on the internet...

 

[cc808314]



I was about to post something similar but saw this. I have a lot of respect for the boutique manufacturers like Alden, and aspire to own some of their products one day. But there is a lot to be said for AE who takes on the "big dog" Cole Haan's  and JM who put a pretty shoe on the shelf at $100-125 and make probably massive margins and AE can still flourish in the same stores.  

They sell a ton of Strands, in fact there are at least 5 people under 30 in my office with a pair. These people will grow their career, and will have an understanding and appreciation of quality that they would not gain if AE was a boutique player who can only be found if you are looking. One day when careers allow, their appreciation for quality may take them to Alden, C&J, or Lobb even (if they make partner). But they may never build that appreciation if they didn't have it presented in a high volume market such as a department store or one of their many indp. stores. 

It's not improbable that this model will end up in acquisition at some point when their valuation is high enough and then they can be made by the same nameless factory in China down the road, and the C squad at AE rolls in the dough (well earned). Then we can all jump on the Alden train, and start their cycle down the same path 20-30 years from now.

Happy Saturday to all, this is what happens when I pop the second bottle of Cava and get on the internet...

Maintaining quality and margins with that model is challenging. You hit the nail on the head with the 3rd paragraph, IMO.

 

[ace13x]

^^^^
If your room full of Harvard MBA's tell you things are trending more casual, why do you eliminate this model?

If you are going to offer proper dress shoes, then make them properly. This less piping, more Poron trend just makes it easier to bail to another brand for traditional dress shoes. I do like the 201 last though.

Or the McTavish and Elgin.

 

[ace13x]

Speaking of the McT, I picked up a pair in Black off eBay last week. They're a little hard to come by in my size so I took on a chance on a pair that didn't look stunning in the pictures, but I thought they can't be THAT bad. Well they were. The previous owner covered them with black wax, which is the last thing you want to do. I was particularly bummed because the contrast stitching is one of its draws for me. Anyway, I took a shot at rehabilitating them. I think they came out OK, but I'd like to hear what you all think.

First a picture of one rehabbed shoe and one not and some close ups:




And here are both after:



The second shoe I did had worse creasing, but a bit less wax. I may have gotten a little too aggressive on the first shoe, since the stitching bleached out a bit (its supposed to be brown). I toned it down on the second shoe, since I got most of the wax off on the first pass. Also, I don't have any VSC on hand but I'm thinking of giving them a light application to give them a touch more sheen. The creasing did improve a lot on both, but I'm pretty sure it will come back once I put some miles on them.

 

[BespokeBrooklyn]

They do, it just isn't as obvious as on the regular line models (which originally turned me off of piping). You can see it better in this picture, it's almost internal.

Also, that's a nice rear end

 

[RTD1]

I was about to post something similar but saw this. I have a lot of respect for the boutique manufacturers like Alden, and aspire to own some of their products one day. But there is a lot to be said for AE who takes on the "big dog" Cole Haan's and JM who put a pretty shoe on the shelf at $100-125 and make probably massive margins and AE can still flourish in the same stores.

To make "massive margins" on a shoe at the $100-125 price point requires cheap materials (corrected grain leather, and increasingly, synthetic materials for everything but the upper), cheap construction (cementing), and a cheap labor force (overseas manufacturing). I just don't see how AE can hope to compete with these companies, nor should they IMO. They'd likely end up in a situation like J&M with a small line of calfskin goodyear welted shoes and everything else junk, and I don't think this is a great spot to be in (look at what has happened when luxury car manufacturers introduced entry level models for the masses that were essentially shitboxes with fancy badges, brand dilution).

 

[eagleman]

A little Saturday night work with some VSC and polish have these old friends looking good this morning. Oxblood Chelsea loafer.

 

[Roycru]

For fans of A-E shoes in the wild, wearing MTO (rubber soles) black Rutledges on the train yesterday.......

 

[spizike9]

Black Rogues on a Sunday morning before church.

 

[ultravisitor]

A little Saturday night work with some VSC and polish have these old friends looking good this morning. Oxblood Chelsea loafer.

Argh. I want these!

 

[MattRiv]



So it looks like merlot shoes will be on sale for a good price.

Is this color more of a red? or a burgundy? or reddish brown? I'm not sure how to perceive the color. Would appreciate if someone could show off some of their merlot's. 

I need wingtips bad, and heart has been set on walnut Mc Allisters, just waiting to catch a pair for cheap.. So buying a merlot pair of Mc Allisters will be a win-lose of sorts.. Is this color too informal for Park Aves? 

Merlot is basically burgundy and very aptly named as it looks just like red wine. It's basically as formal as you can get without being black. It's the perfect color for the Hopkinson and here are mine:

Also, to the rest of the question, how about a pair oxblood Strands which are on sale right now (ending today)? It's not merlot, but is a similar color and lets you get another brogued shoe without encroaching on your ability to buy walnut McAllisters when you can find a good price on them. I'm not positive what will be on the upcoming merlot sale, but you could also go with a long wing as burgundy is a pretty standard color for that shoe in particular.

 

[naspratt]

Brown Hamptons

 

[jet-stream]



So it looks like merlot shoes will be on sale for a good price.

Is this color more of a red? or a burgundy? or reddish brown? I'm not sure how to perceive the color. Would appreciate if someone could show off some of their merlot's. 

I need wingtips bad, and heart has been set on walnut Mc Allisters, just waiting to catch a pair for cheap.. So buying a merlot pair of Mc Allisters will be a win-lose of sorts.. Is this color too informal for Park Aves? 

To my eyes, merlot is purple; it is aptly named. While oxblood is red+brown (maroon, or "oxblood") colored, and dark chili is essentially medium brown, I see Merlot as having distinct purple notes. The purple is subtle and can be quite formal - if not wearing black shoes, Merlot Hopkinsons are my usual suit shoes.

As an aside - someone asked a few pages ago if they could pair oxblood with merlot (can't recall which was belt and which was shoes). IMO, this would be a no-go. Purple with maroon is too discordant for me.

 

[RTD1]

To my eyes, merlot is purple; it is aptly named. While oxblood is red+brown (maroon, or "oxblood") colored, and dark chili is essentially medium brown, I see Merlot as having distinct purple notes. The purple is subtle and can be quite formal - if not wearing black shoes, Merlot Hopkinsons are my usual suit shoes.

As an aside - someone asked a few pages ago if they could pair oxblood with merlot (can't recall which was belt and which was shoes). IMO, this would be a no-go. Purple with maroon is too discordant for me.

Here, I just took a picture of my Dark Chili Strand and my Oxblood Strand.




At least on my pair, Oxblood is very dark, nothing at all like the cherry red Oxblood someone posted a few posts up. I agree with you that Dark Chili is just a medium brown with just a slight hint of reddishness.