Last update on October 7, 2019 at 1:18 p.m.
Allen Edmonds is known for its classic dress shoes, but executives at Caleres, the brand’s St. Louis-based parent company, said this week the company will increasingly focus on more casual offerings.
“The shoes people know Allen Edmonds for, we respect them,” said John Schmidt, Division President – Brand Portfolio at Caleres. “They will always be a very important part of the brand. However, as a total percentage, this will decrease as the consumer really demands a more casual product.
Caleres says classic dress shoes currently make up about 65% of Allen Edmonds sales. By 2021, the company expects that number to drop to 45%.
The company hopes to fill this gap with growth in two other areas. Business casual shoes will increase from 15% to 20% of sales by 2021 and luxury sneakers will increase from 5% to 20%. Caleres is also investing to “revitalize” the weekend casual segment while aiming to maintain it at 15% of sales.
Schmidt said the company’s luxury sneakers currently sell for between $225 and $275, but the offering remains a work in progress.
“Our goal is to really give that consumer who buys an Allen Edmonds shoe…and who is very loyal and loves doing it, the same amount of craftsmanship and the same experience, except in an athletic shoe,” Schmidt said. .
Caleres acquired Port Washington-based Allen Edmonds end of 2016 for 255 million dollars.
In September 2018, the company announced that it relaunch the Allen Edmonds brand with a focus on attracting new, younger customers to the brand. The company even included Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in several ads.
But after disappointing results, Caleres decided to withdraw his investment and reduce sales expectations for this year up to 20%. Executives said the marketing effort generated increased traffic in stores and online, but those visits did not convert into sales at a high enough rate.
Diane Sullivan, chairman, president and CEO of Caleres, told analysts and investors this week that she was pleased with the company’s efforts to reduce the brand’s reliance on promotional efforts over the past year.
“Everything right now, as we see it today, is hitting the targets we expected, which is pretty fast,” she said. “The consumer is so loyal to it and believes in this brand so much. And it’s so difficult to really create that kind of value. … I think we have a great opportunity to leverage that.