BREWER, Maine — As Internet, discount and big-box stores put a strain on many local independent shoe shops, a boot seller in Brewer has preserved his niche and continues to prosper.

Mike Allen, 59, owner of Winterport Boot Shop at 264 State St., in Twin City Plaza, said in a recent interview that there are three secrets to his success: excellent customer service, well-stocked shelves and forward thinking.

“We have enough depth of inventory and we’re agile enough to make whatever changes the customers and the market need us to,” Allen said. “The customer is much better educated and fussier than they were years ago.”

Allen meets fussy head on. Buying one of his heavy-duty work, military, hunting, hiking or Western boots is unlike any other retail shopping experience. In fact, it’s a lot like going to the doctor.

When a customer first visits Winterport Boot Shop, Allen, his wife, Donna, or one of the five other employees measures the length, width, arch and pressure points of the customer’s foot using two machines.

Allen pronounced the left foot of one recent customer to be “one-sixth of an inch larger than the right.”

After a boot is selected, Allen disappears behind a blue curtain and enters a storage area several times the size of his showroom. There lie more than 15,000 boxes of boots, filling tall, seemingly endless rows of shelves. About 85 percent of customers are male, manager Geoff Battick said, and the store stocks men’s sizes 4 to 18 in nine different widths.

When Allen finds a match and gains a new customer, he enters the person’s name and purchase information into a computer database. The system, which dates to 2001, stores more than 30,000 customer records, with sizing information and notes on every boot the customers have ever bought and any problems they have encountered.

“That way, they can just come in and we already know what they need,” said Donna Allen, who recently returned to the showroom floor after rearing two children and working behind the scenes on the store’s advertising.

Winterport Boot’s industrial customers include the state of Maine, Cianbro, International Paper, General Electric and many municipalities across the state.

Perhaps more challenging than providing individualized customer service has been adapting to the changing needs of Maine’s work force. Boots for loggers and millworkers — once prime clientele — are no longer in such high demand. Winterport Boot has adjusted by entering the uniform business. It now stocks and ships law enforcement, military, EMT and security worker clothing, accessories and, of course, footgear. That business is booming, and Allen recently expanded the store to accommodate a showroom for the new product lines.

The success of Winterport Boot has caught the eye of many of the 12 brands of shoes Allen sells in his store. Minnesota-based Red Wing Shoe Co. has appointed Allen to its 10-member board of dealer consultants. He attends annual meetings and makes suggestions for the design of future Red Wing shoes and its Worx line of boots.

Battick, a 21-year employee, sits on a similar design board for Danner and LaCrosse Footwear brands.

Allen and Battwick said the influx of big-box stores has helped, not hurt, their business. Customers wanting rugged, long-lasting boots and attentive service come to Winterport Boot Shop, they said.

“Not all independents are struggling,” Allen said.

Sunny’s is back from Chapter 11, this time with three stores, not 15

Clerk Matt Beasley stocks Annapolis store. The new stores will be smaller than predecessors, with none larger than 5,500 square feet. (Sun photo by Amy Davis / November 7, 2007)

        Outdoors and military surplus store Sunny’s Surplus is back in business less than a year after declaring bankruptcy for the second time in a decade - though on a much smaller scale.

The retailer has opened three stores in Annapolis, Westminster and Frederick. It had 15 stores in January when it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It closed all of the stores at the time.

Michael Weinman, who was the majority stockholder of Sunny’s parent company and a member of the founding family, created an entity called New Sunny’s to buy the company’s remaining assets after most of them were sold in going-out-of-business sales earlier this year.

ROCKFORD, Mich., Oct. 31  /PRNewswire/ — Bates(R) Footwear, a division of Wolverine World Wide Inc., announced today that it will complete development and manufacture 10,000 pairs of Tora Bora(TM) Alpine Combat Boots under a new $2.2 million government contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command. Through initial development with the Special Operations Command, this new technical boot has been specifically engineered for soldiers operating in mountain warfare conditions. Bates will manufacture the Tora Bora Alpine Combat Boot with 100% U.S.-sourced materials at U.S.-based ISO 9001:2000 compliant manufacturing facilities in Rockford, Michigan; Big Rapids, Michigan; and Jonesboro, Arkansas.
(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071031/NEW057 )
Wolverine World Wide Chief Executive Officer Blake W. Krueger said, “We are honored to be a source of technical innovation for the Special Forces and strive to design the best possible footwear solutions that meet the specific needs of the U.S. military. In doing so, we are pleased to continue to develop domestically manufactured footwear that employs cutting edge technologies cultivated through the creative synergy between the Bates(R) and Merrell(R) divisions.”
Since 2004, Bates Footwear has worked closely with the Special Operations Forces to understand the performance characteristics required for their tactical footwear.  The Tora Bora Alpine Combat Boot incorporates proprietary design and manufacturing technologies from both the Bates and Merrell divisions of Wolverine World Wide to provide soldiers with the only domestically manufactured technical footwear suited for advanced mountaineering and high altitude combat operations.
The Tora Bora Alpine Combat Boot integrates new technologies developed to meet the needs of the U.S. military with commercially available design and construction innovations that have been tested and adopted by extreme mountaineers.  This new combat boot will provide soldiers enhanced durability, stability and traction to navigate across varied terrain including deep snow pack; arid desert sand; steep, muddy slopes; and sheer rock face.  The technical boot design offers total performance in a broad range of temperatures and optimum compatibility with tools commonly used by the Special Operations Forces in specialized ski warfare, ice climbing, and snowshoeing expeditions.
Bates remains focused on providing soldiers with advanced footwear and is committed to keeping its domestic operations in Michigan and Arkansas technologically competitive. Bates will be equipping its factories with advanced equipment to enable the construction of this state-of-the-art boot and conduct training for the employees on new manufacturing techniques.  These resources will equip the employees with highly specialized manufacturing skills to build the complex footwear — a vital tool for the men and women who are serving in uniform.
Recognizing the military’s need for domestically manufactured, high-performance technical footwear, Bates(R) Footwear has received strong Congressional support from Members of Congress, particularly Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), Rep. Dave Camp (R-4th/MI) and Rep. Marion Berry (D-01/AR).
“From their body armor to their boots, our men and women in uniform should have cutting-edge equipment at their disposal,” Senator Pryor said. “I applaud Bates for developing innovative footwear that better meets the needs of our soldiers, and I appreciate the hard work of their employees in Jonesboro and elsewhere.”
“We have a responsibility to give the brave men and women in uniform who defend our country the best equipment available,” said Congressman Berry.  “By providing the soldiers with this valuable tool, Bates is also developing a highly-trained and specialized workforce in Jonesboro, which will benefit the community.  I’m proud Arkansas will play a role in improving the equipment for our Special Operations Forces and commend the work Bates is doing to aid our troops in their mission and keep them safe from harm.”
Congressman Dave Camp said, “I am pleased that Bates workers continue to innovate and produce the most cutting-edge footwear available to suit the specialized needs of our Special Operations Forces. It is important news that our troops will continue to have the best products available as they serve our country.”
Bates(R) is part of the Wolverine Footwear Group, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. manufacturers and marketers of branded and licensed footwear and performance leathers. Bates is a leading supplier of uniform footwear to all branches of the U.S. Military and has been building a reputation for uncompromising performance in uniform footwear for more than 120 years.

MILITARY BOOT UNIT RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, FISCAL 2007 COMPARED TO FISCAL 2006

    Our military boot unit manufactures and distributes military combat boots primarily to the Government, foreign governments, and selected commercial surplus outlets.

    Net revenues for the military boot unit totaled $16.4 million for fiscal 2007, down from $19.8 million for fiscal 2006, primarily the result of the expiration of two major military boot contracts and the delay in awarding a new contract by the Government until May 2007. The contract (”Contract”) awarded in May provides for a base year and four one-year options specifying a minimum and maximum number of direct molded sole military boots to be purchased by the Government. This Contract is worth approximately $106.8 million if the Government purchases the maximum quantity of military boots for each of the one-year periods. The amount ultimately purchased by the Government depends solely on its military boot requirements.

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