ALL The Important Red Wing Heritage Questions for President George Curleigh

Video Description

George Curleigh has been president of Red Wing’s heritage division since 2019, in which time he’s been able to enjoy a list of very fun things including a worldwide pandemic, a factory shut-down, a cyber-attack, a periodically dwindling labor force, a broken supply chain for US-made components, and his OWN CHILDREN stealing his boots. So what’s the general feeling in Red Wing, Minnesota, according to George? Actually pretty fantastic. Retail expansion is going hugely well, especially in Asia. The European and North American markets are showing a ton of strength. A new factory recently came online. And after a massive contraction, a flurry of new styles are being released, and old classics everyone wants revived. We get into all of that, plus why Red Wing buried a time capsule full of boots and manufacturing instructions to be dug up in 120 years, how that endeavor led to realizing Red Wing founder Charles Beckman survived a deadly shipwreck off Nova Scotia back in the 1900s, what it was like coming to old-school-as-it-comes Red Wing from tech-driven Arc'teryx, how to get people loving working in a boot factory, and why that aforementioned time when his son swiped his 875s was actually a hugely meaningful moment, in the best way. EPISODE CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:25 - Red Wing Time Capsule 10:47 - Charles Beckman Shipwreck!?!? 13:47 - Presidential Responsbilities 19:49 - Vasque Sunset / Hiking Boot Changes 24:49 - Technology vs Heritage 27:20 - Red Wing Development 30:22 - SB Foot Tanning 38:19 - Global Retail Strategy 48:36 - Red Wing's Challenges 52:43 - Made in USA is TOUGH! 54:30 - Opportunities & Growth 56:25 - George's Favorite Red Wings