Caleres acquires Allen Edmonds from Brentwood Associates

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Dec 14, 2016

Caleres announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Allen Edmonds from Brentwood Associates for $255 million. The acquisition is being funded through existing cash and company’s revolving credit agreement.

 
Founded in 1922, Allen Edmonds offers premium men’s footwear, apparel, leather goods and accessories with a focus on American manufacturing. The US-based retailer is famous for its Goodyear welted shoes that are handcrafted in Port Washington, WI using a 212-step production process.
 
Brentwood Associates acquired Allen Edmonds in 2013 and expanded the brand’s direct-to-consumer business, increased its store count to 70, and grew its e-commerce business 20% per year. The company also invested in targeted print and digital marketing.

Steve Moore, Partner at Brentwood, commented, “We’ve truly enjoyed our partnership with [President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Grangaard] and the Allen Edmonds team over the past three years. The Allen Edmonds brand has one of the most loyal and passionate customer bases we’ve encountered, and it’s been a pleasure to work with the team to help grow the brand across multiple channels of distribution. We believe the company is well positioned to continue its growth trajectory with its new partners at Caleres.”
 
Allen Edmonds joins Caleres’ men’s footwear brand roster that includes George Brown Bilt, Vince and Dr. Scholl’s Shoes. The company’s portfolio also includes brands Sam Edelman, Via Spiga and Diane von Furstenberg.