I imagine that some of you have heard of Founders Footwear, a shoe brand that launched last year. The company offers Blake-rapid welted shoes made in Italy, and has a small collection of core styles. While the ~$300 price does put them in the same realm as some other young shoe brands (although Founders does include shoe trees and free returns/exchanges, which is notable), they’re currently having quite the sale.
The team behind Founders has decided to move their production from a large factory in Southern Italy to a smaller one in the North that focuses on smaller-batch production. This sounds like a solid move to me, as I think that the shoes coming out of those factories will likely be of even higher quality (though the price tag will go up as well). Anyway, all this is to say that the change in supply chain means that they’re looking to liquidate their current inventory. The code SF17 will give you 50% (!) off their current styles (all sales final). You can read more on their Styleforum affiliate thread as well. So while it’s true that there’s more competition than ever for shoes around $300, a welted shoe made in Italy at around $150 is quite the bargain.
