Rumors point to potential sale of Allen Edmonds

According to The Wall Street Journal, since rejecting an unsolicited takeover bid from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc., Men’s Warehouse, a men’s retailer from Texas, may be trying to fend off the acquisition by making an acquisition of its own — Port Washington-based Allen Edmonds Shoe Corp. (AE).

AE CEO Paul Grangaard could not be reached for comment, but he had reportedly said earlier that the high-end shoe company, which is owned by the Minneapolis private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, was looking for new capital to help it expand, though he did not rule out a sale. Allen Edmonds has 46 retail stores in the U.S. and opened its first stores in China in 2012.