WDM selling shoes online

High-end men’s brand debuts

A new high-end men’s shoe and leather goods company in Milwaukee has launched a website to sell its just-created brand of products to consumers.

Shoe company Well Dressed Men, or WDM, said its “Moral Code” brand is selling 19 styles of men’s shoes, along with luxury leather accessories such as bags and wallets, on the website, shop.moralcode.com.

The offerings online now are just a starting point and will be expanded, said Mark Kohlenberg, a former Allen Edmonds Corp. manager who is chief executive of WDM. The website had a soft opening last week but officially debuts this week.

“We’re hoping to capture not only the customer who wants a quality, well-fitting shoe at an attainable price point, but really the style component, too,” Kohlenberg said.

The Moral Code shoes are priced at $198 to $248.

In announcing the formation of the company last winter, WDM said the plan was to provide luxury private label shoes to retailers and wholesalers, but also develop its own brand of men’s footwear and leather products.

Kohlenberg acknowledged Moral Code expects to compete against Allen Edmonds, a Port Washington-based maker of high-end shoes for men. But he said Moral Code also will market to men in their 20s and 30s, with lower prices than many Allen Edmonds shoes.

“We’re targeting a significantly younger consumer,” Kohlenberg said.

In February, Kohlenberg announced the formation of WDM. He founded the company with Laura Engerman, who also once worked for Allen Edmonds. Engerman is WDM’s chief operating offi-

cer.

WDM’s shoes, manufactured in India and Italy, are made of high-grade leather, Kohlenberg said. The owner of the Indiabased manufacturer of the shoes and leather goods, A.H. Group, is financing the new Milwaukee company.

The private label shoes are for retailers that want to offer a luxury-type line of footwear for men. WDM said in March it signed an exclusive licensing deal with California luxury brand Robert Talbott Inc. for a handcrafted footwear collection featuring more than 20 styles and leather bags and wallets.

Asked to explain the brand name Moral Code for WMD’s line of shoes and leather accessories, Kohlenberg said, “We wanted something that would challenge the status quo. We must have looked at probably 200 or 300 name possibilities. But we wanted something that would be provocative, really attract attention, be opposite the status quo.”

He added, “We felt with the consumer that we’re targeting, they really want their own sense of style. They want to follow their own beat in life, and Moral Code really brought it all together.”

Kohlenberg said the Moral Code product offerings will be beefed up with more styles.

“We’ve already closed the collection for spring ‘18. which will premiere next January, and there will be a much broader selection of casual shoes and materials,” he said. “It will look a little bit different than it does today.”