With 40 years of service already, Redman’s Shoes in downtown Alliance is preparing for to serve future generations of customers.
Dave Pearse, owner of Redman’s Shoes, explained the history of the store, and how it came to Alliance in 1980.
“A man named Joseph Redman started a shoe store in Kearney, Nebraska, and then he opened it up to a chain of shoe stores, mostly across the state of Nebraska, but there was one in Kansas, and one in Minnesota. At one time, there were as many as 15 stores. Joe’s business plan was that he would have a manager move to a community and manage the store over a period of time, and then he would sell that store to that manager,” said Pearse.
The Alliance location is one of the two Redman’s Shoes open today, with the other one being in Kearney. Redman’s has operated as a family shoe store, with friendly service to customers. Pearse noted that the industry has seen many changes throughout the past 40 years.
“We used to sit down and measure a customer’s feet,” Pearse said. “We tried to fit everybody from the time they were infants to the time they were elderly. That was the business model when I came to Alliance in 1980. The community has changed since then, and customer shopping habits have changed. When we came to town, your competition was the store across the street. Then it became the store down the road. Then it became the big box stores, then the big discounters, and now it’s the internet.”
At a recent event, Pearse offered advice to other community business owners to help them succeed. He listed five key items: seeking the advice from someone who has a different world view, buying into the community, accepting change and adapting to it, doing something bold in difficult times, and performing honest assessments of the self on a regular basis.
Following those guidelines, Pearse noted that Redman’s Shoes has been working to keep up with the changes, adapting to each one as it occurs. He noted the plethora of changes that can occur in 40 year periods.
“Bigger volume seems to have become the most important ingredient, where it used to be service, hometown friendliness and being part of the community,” said Pearse. “We’ve been looking back at history, and we’ve been trying to figure why we’re here, and those other Redman’s stores aren’t; why we’re here and those other business up and down the block aren’t here.
“If you take a period of 40 years in history, like the 1930s through the 1970s, at the beginning of the ‘30s we were in the Great Depression, and at the end of the ‘60s, we were walking on the moon. Forty years doesn’t seem like a long time to anybody, but a lot of things happen in 40 years.”
Pearse said Redman’s Shoes is taking time on their anniversary to look back and share their gratitude. He believes the personal relationships that are honed are the most important part of life.
“We’re just celebrating 40—we’re not stopping,” Pearse said. “This is a moment to say thanks to past and present employees, customers and the community. This is a life. That’s why we’re all here—to enjoy the life and the lifestyle and pace of western Nebraska. In the end, we’re all in this together. It’s why we do the things we do. If we don’t have each other, what do we have left?”