I’m Doubting Alden’s Future

[gimpwiz]

Was just at Alden SF. They really are suffering for low stock.

 

[breakaway01]

Was just at Alden SF. They really are suffering for low stock.

Not to claim that Alden is like Rolex but there are some advantages to scarcity. Sounds like from earlier posts that they may be very constrained in their ability to increase production. Demand seems to remain high.

 

[philosophe]

I have 15 or so pairs made over the last 15 years, all in the same size. Only one pair did not fit comfortably. Over that period, I do think the quality of the finishing details has declined a bit, but I have not seen issues with heel stacks, hook placement, etc.

Perhaps I've just had good luck, but I suspect that covid and recruitment issues are catching up with them. These days, Alden no longer makes Norwegian stitched shoes on the modified last. Apparently it is a difficult shoe to make, and the increasing number of defective shoes made them abandon the effort.

 

[comrade]

Was just at Alden SF. They really are suffering for low stock.

Who actually wears good leather shoes these days in SF?

I have a few pairs that cost more than Aldens and are more than a decade old.
Since Covid I've only worn them a few times. They look practically new.

 

[gimpwiz]

Quite a few people walked into the store that morning while I was there.

You never came with me to Spoon I dunno if you saw my PM @comrade but I'll let you know next time I go. Probably within two or three weeks.

 

[comrade]

Quite a few people walked into the store that morning while I was there.

You never came with me to Spoon I dunno if you saw my PM @comrade but I'll let you know next time I go. Probably within two or three weeks.

I should take you up on the offer, but I've not long ago took delivery of
an MTM tweed jacket from the Andover Shop which I've yet to wear, owing
to the weather and a limited social schedule.

 

[pasadena man]

Who actually wears good leather shoes these days in SF?

I have a few pairs that cost more than Aldens and are more than a decade old.
Since Covid I've only worn them a few times. They look practically new.

Yes, it is remarkable how covid has accelerated the casualization trend, including footwear.

I was in Chicago last summer for a college reunion. I walked half a mile down North Michigan Avenue keeping track of the proper leather lace up shoes (bluchers, oxfords, LWB’s, etc.) I saw.

This was in the middle of a week/workday morning. Michigan Avenue is one of the great high-end office and shopping, boulevardier, and flaneur avenues in the Midwest.

I noticed less than a dozen pairs of nice lace ups in the four blocks, and maybe three pairs that seemed nice enough that I would have liked a closer look.

Tough for Alden & AE when their shoes last a very long time when in infrequent rotation, less replacement sales.

When you look at their product lines, Alden is much more concentrated on their traditional leather models. AE leans much more into brogues with more casual touches such as crepe, Vibram, etc. soles.

http://www.aldenshoe.com/DrawCategories.aspx?PageID=8&CategoryID=15

https://www.allenedmonds.com/mens-shoes?icid=TopNav_Shoes_MensShoes

That is a bit of a negative for Alden in adapting to current trends IMO (although as a buyer I love that aspect to their product offering).

On the other hand, I find Alden’s slightly more rustic, clunky (coming from a place of love) styles to be a better match for casualization trends than some of AE, C & J, Churchs’ and others offerings. I think of Alden’s typical shoe as being somewhere between C & J’s and Trickers more country style, to use an UK analogy.

The above is not a critique of either brand, I own and like both and am glad that we still have these high quality American brands in business.

 

[comrade]

Yes, it is remarkable how covid has accelerated the casualization trend, including footwear.

I was in Chicago last summer for a college reunion. I walked half a mile down North Michigan Avenue keeping track of the proper leather lace up shoes (bluchers, oxfords, LWB’s, etc.) I saw.

This was in the middle of a week/workday morning. Michigan Avenue is one of the great high-end office and shopping, boulevardier, and flaneur avenues in the Midwest.

I noticed less than a dozen pairs of nice lace ups in the four blocks, and maybe three pairs that seemed nice enough that I would have liked a closer look.

Tough for Alden & AE when their shoes last a very long time when in infrequent rotation, less replacement sales.

When you look at their product lines, Alden is much more concentrated on their traditional leather models. AE leans much more into brogues with more casual touches such as crepe, Vibram, etc. soles.

http://www.aldenshoe.com/DrawCategories.aspx?PageID=8&CategoryID=15

https://www.allenedmonds.com/mens-shoes?icid=TopNav_Shoes_MensShoes

That is a bit of a negative for Alden in adapting to current trends IMO (although as a buyer I love that aspect to their product offering).

On the other hand, I find Alden’s slightly more rustic, clunky (coming from a place of love) styles to be a better match for casualization trends than some of AE, C & J, Churchs’ and others offerings. I think of Alden’s typical shoe as being somewhere between C & J’s and Trickers more country style, to use an UK analogy.

The above is not a critique of either brand, I own and like both and am glad that we still have these high quality American brands in business.

I worked on N Michigan Ave in the '80s for a software firm. Even in tech
at least for management and sales/marketing, the dress was a coat and tie. In our firm I was an outlier wearing Norman Hilton, Chipp, Paul Stuart. Michigan Ave was (is?) a center for media whose personnel
tended to by very well-dressed. It was also the locale of better men's
retailers such as Brittany and Ultimo along with high-end department stores with premium merchandise, eg Bonwitt Teller, I Magnin.