RancourtShoes

We make those shoes for Eastland.

I'm paraphrasing/reposting comments I made yesterday:

There were 5 reasons I gave for our shoes having value: "Taste, integrity, patriotism, preserving tradition, and saving money" taste - most of out shoes don't go out of style. When did people stop wearing camp-mocs, boat shoes, or penny loafers? Find pictures of men from any generation, any decade, and you'll see these styles. The level of quality in our construction and materials shows that you are a man of taste integrity - committed to manufacturing ALL of our shoes in Maine, USA. Our average worker makes more than double the minimum wage, and the highly skilled and experienced worker, even more than that. Can walmart or any other big box retailer say the same? patriotism - patriotism is someone who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion. As a manufacturer that produces all of its products in the United States, employs 62 people in the United States, sources 90% or more of its raw materials in the United States, and supports its community in a multitude of ways, I'd like to think that we qualify as patriots. It could be easier and more profitable to produce shoes off-shore like Allen-Edmonds, but we chose not to because we believe in the people of our state and in the people of our country. The jobs we've retained and created with this company have a significant ripple effect on the economies of the state of Maine and the United States. Those are 62 people who will not be on unemployment, not on welfare, and not struggling to make ends meet. Customers who choose to support us with their wallets, and not take the easy way out by buying disposable products, qualify as patriots in my book. It can be a tough decision to spend $250 on a pair of shoes, and I applaud anyone willing to do so.

preserving tradition - making shoes is the ONLY thing my family has done for three generations and it is a craft that thrived in my hometown but is now dying. I want to see it continue. Its a shame to let something this special go away Saving money - for arguments sake, you want to compare to a $25 pair of shoes? OK. You buy a pair of our shoes for $210, you take care of them, you get them resoled every three years for $50 ($75 includes refinishing, but with a little know-how and fortitude, you can do it yourself). Your $25 shoes made of plastic or other man made materials crumble and fall apart after six months, laces break, eyelets pop. etc. in six years we're at a break even, in seven years of owning our shoes you're saving money. PLUS you have all of those virtues described above. last thing, some people see value as how much of something you can get for the cheapest price. that is not what the word means and it is a notion in this country that we are desperately trying to change. Value should be seen as the worth or merit inherent in a product, not just the price tag. this misguided concept of value has given rise to massive corporate retailers like walmart that come in and pillage small business

nope, sorry. Many of their handsewn shoes are produced entirely in the Dominican Republic and it says so right inside the shoes, I'm not breaking any news here. Also, its a little known fact that many shoes of theirs that say "Made in USA of imported materials" means that the uppers were produced in the DR and shipped to Wisconsin to put the soles on. essentially they are assembled in the US. alot of their shoes say "made in usa of imported materials"

we'd be happy to make your shoes from any leather we have in stock, we happen to have some Royal Blue Rockford right now.

in 1998 My father sold his factory to his biggest customer at the time, Allen-Edmonds. The factory grew, they hired more people, things were good. times changed, AE was sold, they wanted to close the factory. in 2009 We bought some assets back and took on the people they were laying off. We saved jobs, preserved the tradition of making shoes here in Lewiston. We are happy.

I can't make that case for you. Alden makes great shoes, I wear them sometimes... more so I can compare the fit of their shoes to ours but also to study such a great company with a long history. Alden is awesome, I've got nothing but love for them.

They don't make handsewn shoes, they buy their "Cape Cod" collection from another factory in Maine. If you're buying handsewn shoes, buy them from us, we make them.