RANCOURT & Co. Shoes - Made in Maine

[Radboots]

The Beefroll Penny and Gilman are still both current within the line. The Gilman is actually the company's best selling model. But Rancourt has never really maintained much finished inventory for any of its styles. If you order a pair of Beefroll or Gilman my guess is that you will receive it within 6 to 8 weeks time.

Don't know that this is accurate for Rancourt over the last year. It took 6 months for them to fulfill some of last February's pre-orders. After that, it was 4 months before I gave up on a sizing change. For just basic Beefroll loafers - nothing custom.

FWIW - the pair of Beefrolls I have I like because it is essentially impossible for me to find loafers that fit me from other brands due to a combination of width and instep.

 

[DG123]

sorry if this isn't the right place for this convo - but any updates on the state of Rancourt as a whole?

For decades now a primary problem for a handsewn factory is that the style of construction is relatively out of fashion. Consumer fashion tastes is one reason why so many Maine hand sewn factories closed, another is competition from China hand sewn factories, and a third reason is the near elimination of retail store fronts.
Rancourt Company absolutely buys top quality leathers and employs skilled factory workers who produce excellent products. I believe the consumer market is large enough for a Maine handsewn factory like Rancourt to thrive, but to do so improved brand awareness and marketing is likely needed.

 

[Aenonymous]

For decades now a primary problem for a handsewn factory is that the style of construction is relatively out of fashion. Consumer fashion tastes is one reason why so many Maine hand sewn factories closed, another is competition from China hand sewn factories, and a third reason is the near elimination of retail store fronts.
Rancourt Company absolutely buys top quality leathers and employs skilled factory workers who produce excellent products. I believe the consumer market is large enough for a Maine handsewn factory like Rancourt to thrive, but to do so improved brand awareness and marketing is likely needed.

Personally I don't see the decline of Maine handsewn factories being any different than the decline of USA Goodyear Welt factories, or Blake-stitch factories, or cup-sole sneaker factories, or baked bean factories for that matter. The cause is virtually the same for all. It's not specific to handsewing.

And many of the Maine factories that closed: GH Bass, Sebago, Eastland, Sperry, are still existing brands selling handsewn-style shoes, they're just not making them in Maine (although Sperry's contracting with Rancourt currently, and Eastland was for awhile), so the consumer demand is still there generally speaking. Not to mention numerous other brands selling this style of shoe (Allen Edmonds, Cole Haan, Rusell Mocc - maybe I could find another dozen).

Rancourt is doing well. A small family-owned company is never going to have the resources needed to embark on a marketing campaign that could actually move the needle. And should Rancourt somehow improve brand awareness significantly it likely wouldn't add much to the bottom line. As they've said themselves, demand for their product has been at an all time high, and they struggle to find qualified workers to produce adequate supply.

The state of Rancourt is good. The reason everyone on Style Forum is wondering why their shoes are taking so long to ship, it's for the same reason all remaining domestic shoemakers are taking forever to ship their shoes - demand is at an all time high and there aren't enough workers. Demand far outpaces supply, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. Just be thankful you can still by MiUSA shoes.

By the way, in addition to Rancourt I'm aware of these Maine handsewn operations that still exist: Quoddy, Easymoc, Yuketen, Oak Street Bootmakers, Town View Leather, Wassookeag, Mainesole. Anybody aware of any others?

 

[colton2e]

My Baxter Ranger Mocs after only 3 wears. Total mess of a shoe. I've had these for over a year and they won't be worn a 4th time, at least by me. Just waiting until meet someone I dislike enough to pass them on to.

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Unsurprisingly I wasn't expecting a shell penny loafer. I was expecting a Baxter Ranger Moc, which is what I got and I don't like it very much. You guys seem to take this quite personally. All opinions should be welcome in this forum whether positive or negative. Starting to feel like a Rancourt fan club.

I genuinely don't like how they look after 3 wears. This maybe normal for this style as you say, and I'm saying I don't like the way it looks. If Rancourts are your thing then that's great.

I think we are all just confused… had you never seen a worn pair of unlined unstructured handsewn Mocs before you bought these? Did you even use shoe trees?

 

[Fenners81]

I think we are all just confused… had you never seen a worn pair of unlined unstructured handsewn Mocs before you bought these? Did you even use shoe trees?

I did use shoe trees and do in all of my boots and shoes. I think you nailed it with your first question. It was a bit of an impulse buy without prior research. Having now seen what happens to unlined, handsewn mocs after wearing, I'm completely at a loss as to what the appeal is to you guys. As I said before though, to each his own and lesson learned on my part.

 

[colton2e]

I did use shoe tree and do in all of my boots and shoes. I think you nailed it with your first question. It was a bit of an impulse buy without prior research. Having now seen what happens to unlined, handsewn mocs after wearing, I'm completely at a loss as to what the appeal is to you guys. As I said before though, to each his own and lesson learned on my part.

That’s fair. For me I like the comfort and casual nature of such a shoe. Seeing how the leather changes and molds to your foot with wear and than be brought back to life with a little care over years and years is appealing to me, especially on a moccasin. They do have offerings in things like lined calfskin that will hold their shape and texture better over time.

 

[DG123]

I think we are all just confused… had you never seen a worn pair of unlined unstructured handsewn Mocs before you bought these? Did you even use shoe trees?

He bought the Ranger Mocs a year ago during the discounted price pre-sale. In June he started complaining about not yet receiving his pair. At that time here at this thread I suggested that he ask Rancourt to ship him a pair from their finished stock, which the company did. For that he expressed no gratitude to me for the suggestion or to Rancourt for shipping out of their full price stock his discount price pair.
Once the shoes were enroute to him he complained about Rancourt using Fed Ex service to his country (Dubai) instead of a faster shipper.
Upon receiving the shoes, he posted here to this thread that the fit was good but the styling more casual-informal than he expected. Now, approximately 7 months after receiving his pair of Ranger Mocs he has worn them 3 times and is disappointed with their appearance.

 

[Fenners81]

He bought the Ranger Mocs a year ago during the discounted price pre-sale. In June he started complaining about not yet receiving his pair. At that time here at this thread I suggested that he ask Rancourt to ship him a pair from their finished stock, which the company did. For that he expressed no gratitude to me for the suggestion or to Rancourt for shipping out of their full price stock his discount price pair.
Once the shoes were enroute to him he complained about Rancourt using Fed Ex service to his country (Dubai) instead of a faster shipper.
Upon receiving the shoes, he posted here to this thread that the fit was good but the styling more casual-informal than he expected. Now, approximately 7 months after receiving his pair of Ranger Mocs he has worn them 3 times and is disappointed with their appearance.

 

[Fenners81]

Apologies that me saying thanks to you wasn't gratitude enough. For the record, I also sent an email to the nice man (David i think) at Rancourt, thanking him. Feel free to retract those 2 comments. In response to the rest, yes I did complain about the deadline being missed as this was something I expected to be honoured. I explained my situation to Rancourt before ordering i.e. the moving countries, and they assured me it wouldn't be an issue. Your long descriptive rant is pretty unfair and uncalled for, as well as containing glaring untruths that you should rectify.

 

[SpallaPerfetta]

Apologies that me saying thanks to you wasn't gratitude enough. For the record, I also sent an email to the nice man (David i think) at Rancourt, thanking him. Feel free to retract those 2 comments. In response to the rest, yes I did complain about the deadline being missed as this was something I expected to be honoured. I explained my situation to Rancourt before ordering i.e. the moving countries, and they assured me it wouldn't be an issue. Your long descriptive rant is pretty unfair and uncalled for, as well as containing glaring untruths that you should rectify.

Speaking of David… has anyone had any contact with him? I’ve emailed and called Rancourt but the phone goes right to voicemail. I really really don’t want to do a credit card chargeback against them but it’s been weeks with zero communication about the refund I’m owed.

 

[colton2e]

Speaking of David… has anyone had any contact with him? I’ve emailed and called Rancourt but the phone goes right to voicemail. I really really don’t want to do a credit card chargeback against them but it’s been weeks with zero communication about the refund I’m owed.

I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. Send another email. Could still be catching up with a backlog of requests if they took the holidays off. Their customer service has been excellent to me. They refunded me for a pair of shoes I sent back that somehow never got picked up by the shipper(used a FedEx drop box… never again).

 

[mxgreen]

I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. Send another email. Could still be catching up with a backlog of requests if they took the holidays off. Their customer service has been excellent to me. They refunded me for a pair of shoes I sent back that somehow never got picked up by the shipper(used a FedEx drop box… never again).

I just received an e-mail from David.

 

[SpallaPerfetta]

I just received an e-mail from David.

I still haven’t…

 

[mxgreen]

I still haven’t…

In my response to his e-mail I told him about this styleforum thread (and included the link) and that some of the posters here are anxious to hear back from him. Hopefully, it worked.

 

[DG123]

Anybody here buying pairs of the current Spring Pre-Sale offerings? For my son I've purchased a pair of the Venetian. I've had a pair of these for about a year and like them very much; the Vibram mini lug is outsole is a good match for the beefy Chromepak leather upper.