If the shoe fits | A father-son team revives the family's footwear legacy
Photo/Amber Waterman
Mike Rancourt, left, and his son, Kyle, are capitalizing on what they see as an increased interest in Maine-made shoes
Somewhere in China, an Italian diplomat is wearing a pair of hand-sewn, chocolate-colored classic boat moccasins with an innersole stamped “Rancourt and Co., Made in Maine USA.”
Last week, the handsome shoes, made of shell cordovan leather — among the most expensive and durable leathers in the world — were sitting on a conference table at Rancourt and Co. in Lewiston awaiting shipment to the Italian customer, a man who happily shelled out $425 for a pair of men’s shoes that should last 25 years or more. “He picked out the color of the leather, but I handled everything else, the laces, the eyelets …” says Kyle Rancourt, manager of sourcing and procurement.
It’s obvious Kyle, who joined his dad, Mike, this spring after graduating college, is proud of the work his company and its 33 employees produce in the fourth iteration of footwear manufacturing in the Rancourt family. “There’s something about people making something ... it’s so tangible,“ he says, handling one of the Italian customer’s shoes. “It’s a real craft.”
One that Kyle and his dad know is necessary to grow their company. When Rancourt and Co. was founded last November — an offshoot of Allen-Edmonds, an upscale shoe manufacturer in Lewiston — the Rancourts hired 22 workers, some of whom were teetering on the brink of retirement. Finding experienced cutters, stitchers and hand sewers the first time was daunting enough, but within a few months the pair realized they had to hire 11 more employees to keep up with orders.
“There is pent-up demand for really authentically produced Maine footwear,” says Mike Rancourt, who acknowledges he was somewhat taken aback at the clamor for Rancourt shoes. “We hung out our ‘We’re open for business’ sign, and because I’ve been in this business for a long time, and my father before me, the phone calls just started coming in.“
The calls were from wholesalers and private specialty label companies, adding to the work Rancourt and Co. had under contract for Ralph Lauren and Foot Joy. Last fall, the company was making 355 pairs a week with a staff of 22; now they are making 575 pairs a week with a staff of 33 and hiring at least four more skilled shoe makers by September.
“I hope I don’t sound arrogant, but we have probably walked away from more business than we’ll produce in six months because we just can’t meet demand right now,” says Mike Rancourt, president of the company.
The elder Rancourt knows of what he speaks. His father, Dave, opened a shoe factory, Marchand Moccasin, in 1964, which was later bought by Quoddy Moccasin, its best customer. In 1982, Dave and Mike founded Down East Footwear, which also was eventually bought by its largest customer, Cole Haan. Then in 1992, Mike and his wife, Debbie, started Maine Shoe Co., eventually bought by Allen-Edmonds.
Mike Rancourt stayed on as a business developer, but saw the writing on the wall five years ago as work started to going to the Dominican Republic and the Maine work force shrunk. It pained him to think the community’s footwear manufacturing history was dying. Breaking with his family’s history, he asked Allen-Edmonds if he could buy a portion of the business back and start his own company once again. They agreed.
With $300,000 of his own money and a $100,000 bank loan, Mike Rancourt opened Rancourt Co., preserving both the community’s and his family’s footwear legacy. He and his son are planning deliberate, managed growth. “Growth becomes dangerous if you exceed your ability to manage or finance it,” he says. “That’s not the route we plan to take.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments