Allen-Edmonds Adding Jobs on Positive Outlook

Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp., which slashed jobs in recent years because of the recession, has added 45 jobs due to an expected increase in sales this year.

Many of the new jobs replace those that were cut during the economic downturn and some are newly created positions, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. According to the story, Allen-Edmonds expects wholesale sales to increase by about 15 percent this year.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Grangaard told the newspaper a major catalyst for the expected increase in sales is that style trends for men’s shoes are reflecting more American looks after several years of Italian styles being the hot thing.

Allen-Edmonds currently has a staff of 284 at its headquarters in Port Washington and an additional 300 workers in southeastern Wisconsin.  The company, which makes 90 percent of its shoes in the U.S., operates 30 retail stores, including 10 outlets.