There is a new brand on the scene that are creating quite a big storm in the shoe world, mainly in the US however and their name is Jack Erwin. For many of you outside of the US, this might very well be the first time that you are hearing about it. So allow me to explain what I have read and come across so far. The main point of their brand is to offer well made shoes for under $200. A great idea I’d say. And from the looks of things they are doing a good job and maintaining a good looking shoe RELATIVE to it’s pricepoint. They are having their line kept simple, classic and have created a look and feel of a fusion between British & Italian aesthetic. At that price-point I can’t say that anyone else has done what they have done in terms of maintaining a certain quality-like appearance, with the exception of Meermin of course. Everything else at $200 just looks like rubbish to me.
Okay, so now for the pros and cons of the brand and let’s start with the pros. While I proclaim myself “The Shoe Snob” and am quite a brat when it comes to shoes, and therefore mainly write about ones that are +$500 that does not mean that I am an idiot that thinks that all shoes should cost that much. I know very well that not everyone can afford the C&J’s, G&G’s, Saint Crispins of the world, yet may very well aspire to dress nicely and look sharp. That is where brands like Jack Erwin come into place and fulfil a gap in the market, supplying good looking shoes at a reasonable and affordable price. And I think it’s great as those that cannot afford the more expensive ones should not be left with only the typical $200 rubbish that is out there. Finally someone managed to create a shoe that looks like it cost more but actually doesn’t. Well done for that JE! And I now have another brand to refer to those that email asking for good brands at affordable prices, so thanks for making my job easier guys!
Now the cons actually have less to do with the shoes and more about educating the customer on the business model that they chose as not to think that all brands need to now follow suit. I will pre-emptively say that while some of you may think that I am writing this to back up my own brand, I am not (as I don’t need to justify my shoes or prices) but merely wanting to educate those that think that just because something is done by one that it should be done by many or all. That being, they chose a very bold route to undertake in order to get the absolute best price to the customer, not only in price of shoes, but in the fact that ALL of the shipping costs are paid by the company and not by the consumer. Impressive yes, but dangerous too as it can create a very demanding consumer, which is not always a good thing in my humble opinion. Paying the shipping to the customer makes sense as it is enticing. Paying for their returns is where for me it gets dangerous…..(so just to clarify, the business model is not bad, but it can confuse customers into thinking that everyone else is ripping them off, when they are not)
Now. when starting a shoe line you basically have two options, Direct to Customer sales or Wholesale Pricing. If you plan on never selling your shoes to a 3rd party and will forever be selling directly to a customer, then getting the best price possible for them should be your aim (as it was for JE), while still maintaining a healthy margin as to keep the company afloat. However, if you ever plan to sell to the Nordstrom’s, the Selfridge’s, the Leffot’s or any other store for that matter in order to grow your brand internationally then you have to have what is called a wholesale mark up. That means you have to be able to sell your shoes to those stores, making a tiny bit of money and allowing for them to get their retail price factored in, all while trying to keep your shoe prices down. This of course means that in comparison to a Direct to Customer model, your retail prices will be a bit higher. Wholesale mark ups are in 95% of the brands out there. Only a handful like Jack Erwin, Meermin, Septieme Largeur etc. have decided to keep the costs low by going straight to the customer. Fair play on all of them as it gives the customer a great reason to buy from them, but also makes it hard to really expand your company internationally as your company will forever be your only source of obtaining the shoes.
The only other thing that bothered me is the fact that they claim to have hand-stitched soles. That is clearly not right and it is evident by looking at the sole above. In reality it does not even make sense for a bespoke shoe to be hand stitched when asked for blake construction as it harder to do then a hand welted shoe. It ONLY ever makes sense to do blake stitch by machine, because if they did not, the shoe would cost $2000, not $200. Other than that critique, I think that Jack Erwin shoes are a great option for those looking to smarten themselves up but might be on a budget or simply hate the idea of spending lots of money on shoes. At the end of the day, Jack Erwin makes my goals easier, as for me the most important thing, greater than my own brand and which is why I write this blog, is to see more men wearing better shoes. And if they can help with a certain sector of the market then all the power to them and I hope that they do well and start converting all of those that wear the Kenneth Cole’s, the Russell & Bromley, the Steve Madden etc into Jack Erwin customers…. Get all of those guys JE!
That explanation of the bussiness models was quite interesting. I’d like to read some more info in the future.
About the brand now, I must admit I liked their loafer (and the boot, but non-lace up boots don’t work for me, the vamp is too empty) but I got dissapointed since they only ship to the U.S. I’ve seen a lot of new brands, like Just a Mens Shoe, John Doe, Beckett Simonon etc, offering cheap and well made (or so they claim) shoes the last couple of months. What’s your take?
that’s the way the business model works. It has to be local shipping. No company can afford to swallow £50 shipping to East Asia or Australia. It just doesn’t make sense. So therefore, in order to keep the “Free Shipping” slogan, they simply cut out the rest of the world. Fortunately for them, America is big enough a market to sustain a brand forever.
The Business Model is a decision that I will have to make pretty soon on my Brand, maybe you can give me a hand Justin… I own a small made to measure brand (ramalhoni) that recently started making a ready to wear collection and also a sneaker collection. We did the GDS fair and got some accounts, but since we’re really small out quantities are small, and our margins too!
The predicament that awaits me is, should I drop the accounts and spend all my time and money in direct to consumer sales, or should we continue the wholesale path and little by little build a network of distribution. What is really making this decision hard for us is that the place where we really make some money is on direct to costumer sales, otherwise the wholesales account destroy or margins…
In your experience what’s be “best way” to go?!
Cheers… and keep up the amazing work at the Website, it’s my go to place for shoe related info…
unless you have massive backing and a lot of connections in the journalism industry it is very difficult to make the straight to customer model happen successfully. Best to go for the other route in my humble opinion
No mention of where these are made? China or India? Maybe Portugal?
Anyway, some of them look quite nice, and I would actually like to buy that “Jake” balmoral-styled monkstrap. It’s very smart. The last shape looks attractive for all of them. Alas, they don’t ship internationally, and even if you have a US mailing address, they only accept cards with US mailing addresses. So for now, this post is American-only. Shame.
Ramalhoni, I’ve just looked at your site. I don’t much like this “crossover” style personally; Church’s are all over it these days and it makes me queasy. But one thing, though: I don’t like jodphur boots, but yours is the only one I’ve ever seen that I wanted to wear. In regard to your question, if I might make a suggestion: the way you’ve asked it suggests you know the answer is “go direct”. Read Justin’s posts about getting started and I’m sure you’ll see that he’s faced exactly the same challenges and come to exactly the same conclusions. Cf. Septieme Largeur, Ed et Al and several other smaller makers featured in these pages. Anyway, I wish you good luck. Maybe I’ll write about you one day.
Strange that they have the shoes in UK sizes when their market is the US.
Strange, or pretentious?
Depends where they’re made, and where their lasts were designed (assuming this was outsourced) – they might have been conceived in UK sizes from the beginning. I think they use UK sizes in Mexico, for example, another likely manufacturing base – maybe the most likely, with NAFTA etc, now I think about it.
that is the EU sizing and in light of probably not trying to confuse the factory and create more work they just kept their house sizing to keep it simple.
made in Portugal I believe…
You should be a spelling snob too… or just spell check your writing. The spelling really weakens the strength of the classy aura you’re trying to put out there.
Classy? How long have you been reading the blog? Dont care about perfect writing or grammar. I am not a writer, just a person speaking my thoughts.
Obviously you’re not a writer.
“A new brand on the scene that “are” creating?” “Is” would be correct
Relative to “it’s” price point? Its would be correct.
And this is just for openers.
I think you were absent on the day they taught grammar in grammar school…
Grammar school? Where is that? Read this: https://theshoesnobblog.com/2015/01/rant-a-bloggers-writing-plus-some-shoe-porn.html
A group or organization can use the plural form of the copulative. The author’s grammar is correct.
I beg to disagree. If you want to substitute “a new brand on the scene” with a pronoun, you would have to use “it.” Would you say, “the price of tomatoes ‘are’ going up?” Same example. It’s basic grammar, sir.
Really. ?kids are dying of cancer.. and this is a argument on shoe grammer ?.. and over priced foot wear.?..no matter what u wear ur still gonna step on some shit along the way….so if JACK EDWIN shoes don’t make u hover above ground..they are just another pair of shoes….some kids don’t have shoes at all….O and excuse MY writing an grammer…who gives a f…..? Somebody’s child just died of starvation..
Clearly the author is just a pretentious SOB with little grasp of the English language. He uses the word “that” six times in one sentence. When writing, the word “that” should be avoided as it is unnecessary.
Pretentious SOB? HAHA, whatever… have a quick read to see what I think of that https://theshoesnobblog.com/2015/01/rant-a-bloggers-writing-plus-some-shoe-porn.html
I have a question or three. I usually buy my shoes from Johnston & Murphy but they don’t make or carry the style I want which is a wingtip dress boot, So I started shopping around. Allen Edmond’s makes a nice Dalton style wingtip dress boot but it’s $425 american. JE has a brand called the Carter wingtip combat boot which is $220. Two for the price of one.
How does the JE compare to Allen Edmond?
Any information on the JE – Carter wingtip combat boot? Does it have a leather sole.
Which would you recommend? The JE carter or the Allen Edmond’s Dalton?
Thanks
-marco
Hey shoe snob – thanks for getting back to me. NOT. But I still got a pair of Jack Erwin shoes, well two pairs.
COMPLETE CRAP !! Would have been happier spending $220 on a pair of Nunn Bush compared to Jack Erwin shoes unless you like putting your feet in a box of rocks and walking around,
ShoeSnob has no credibility
No credibility? You must be joking? Mr. Fitzpatrick is hands down my go to source for shoe knowledge. He posts these informative blog posts and tutorials on how to maintain your shoe investments free of charge. He also runs his own shoe line, J. Fitzpatrick Footwear, along with writing this blog so the mate must have gotten busy, cut him some slack. I think you also could have answered your own question when comparing a shoe brand that specializes in under $200 footwear, whereas Allen Edmonds Dalton boot is $425. I don’t believe you can blame the Shoe Snob for purchasing TWO pairs of Jack Erwin shoes, when in reality you should have only purchased one to test the product before diving right in with two pairs. Clearly this is less about the Shoe Snob being credible and more about you not having common sense.
I think you’ll find AEs a little more sturdy and solid, whereas JEs are a bit sleeker and European looking. AEs are for the most part made in USA, so if you are American and want to support US made products, I say take them. I have several pairs of AEs and for the most part love them all. The factory’s recrafting is a great option too. JEs are made in Spain (I think) and, as the writer above points out, is a fine shoe for the price.
What a bunch of sycophantic bull!!! Here we have some shoe-idiot who probably received a pair of each style just to write this somewhat favorable review and you people are taking it seriously!!! The hint is in the advice shoe-idiot has for “ramalhoni “, unless you know someone in the media (like me), you probably wont succeed. In other words it really does not matter the quality or the craftsmanship of the shoe its who you know and how your brand is perceived!!! This is such a pretentious, condescending blog!! I agree with – WENDY257 its not just people who cant afford $500-$1000 that don’t by these shoes its also people that have a soul. I am no bible basher but there are a couple of the 7 deadly sins you’ll be branded with come end of days and anyway what grown man writes about shoes and is a shoe snob!! Do you have any idea how much food and medicine $500 would buy in the developing world – the word is its creating a “big storm”, in the infant mortality third world!!!
What the hell are you talking about? “What kind of grown man writes about shoes..” These kind of shoes are for “grown ups.” These same “Grown ups” write about things like suits, watches, and other “grown up” accessories that professional people wear every day. Perhaps in our world of exploitative manufacturing you think that $500 for a pair of shoes is an outrage, but really it’s the sub $500 pair of shoes that can have the most destructive effect on people’s livelihood and the environment.
And, you claim to work in media? Okay, if you say so…
I’ll take the $500 pair of shoes made by a skilled craftsman who does his work because he loves it and makes an honest living of it over the $50 pair of shoes made by some poor exploited child forced to do so under duress by a soulless corporation in one of your “developing” countries.
It’s ridiculous for someone to pose the philosophical question, “Do you know how many…” any amount of money would help others in need. This empty argument is posed regularly as if to make some grand point. The problem is the world does not work that way. We could ask that question endlessly. Any time anyone spends a dollar more than they need to spend on anything, we could apply the logic that they could have donated that dollar to a better cause. Yet, where does that get us? If, instead of purchasing nicer things, going out to better restaurants, taking that extra vacation, etc., people purchased only what they absolutely needed and nothing better or in no more quantity than what they can use, the world economy would crash. That’s right. People’s jobs and livelihoods are dependent upon other people spending money–on watches, nights on the town, vacations and, yes, expensive shoes. All of this activity makes money for people, many of whom choose to donate that income to “better causes”. So, let’s stop with the guilt trip nonsense every time someone wants to write about something in which they happen to have an interest. If you don’t want to buy $500 shoes, then don’t buy them. I hazard to guess you’re wasting your cash on other silly things.
FYI…..just go on aliexpress type in hand made shoe and you can buy the same ones for $100…….
ERWIN is just an importer…….I highly highly doubt they are made on Portugal…… I would rather guess they are shipped from china to Portugal where they put a made in Portugal tag
Agreed! Shape and fit , are typical of chinese manufacturing and , many European brands are using the same trick……
To those posting comments regarding the grammar of the site’s owner, please take your opinions to an appropriate forum. I would suggest able2know.org or other similar sites. I opened this link to read the author’s opinion of JE shoes, not subject myself to your pretentious rants.
Way to go overboard… I’ve had the same happen to my Alden shoes. I guess ill go online and write about it.
The co founder of Jack Erwin is a HUGE misogynist! He treats his staff horribly and is unpleasant particularly to his female staff. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BRAND