Alberta Boot Company

The Globe and Mail reported in July 2022 that the company was purchased in 2021 by a group of local Calgary investors led by Eytan Broder, who serves as CEO, and a LiveWire Calgary article last updated in February 2024 repeats the 2021 sale with no later change reported anywhere. The company was founded and family-owned by the Gerwing family from 1978 until that sale. Alberta's corporate registry, which would confirm the exact shareholding, is a paid lookup and was not reachable, so this rests on press reporting rather than a filing.

• Alberta Boot Company molding local heritage with the modern west through brand expansion press “The company was purchased last year by a group of local Calgary investors, led by Mr. Broder.”
• Alberta Boot Company expanding operations, experience into Beltline - LiveWire Calgary press “ABC was acquired by a new ownership group in 2021.”
• Boot Scootin' Success: How one Calgary boot company is transforming into a global lifestyle brand | Travel Alberta press “Our vision for Alberta Boot is to become an iconic Canadian brand that is recognized across the world.”
• Best Boot Brands in Canada | Made in CA directory “Alberta Boot Company is a Canadian-owned and operated company based in Alberta.”

The vendor and local press consistently describe every boot as handcrafted from start to finish at the company's own factory behind its Calgary flagship store, with no other manufacturing site mentioned anywhere.

• Handcrafted Custom Western Boots By Alberta Boot Company vendor_statement “Each pair is handcrafted in our Calgary workshop, where our bootmakers carefully cut, stitch, shape, and finish the boots to your specifications.”
• The Story Behind The Alberta Boot Company vendor_statement “Established in Calgary in 1978, the Alberta Boot Company boasts a rich heritage of meticulously handcrafting superior quality western, work, and everyday footwear.”
• Best Boot Brands in Canada | Made in CA directory “All Alberta Boot Company's boots are made in-house and handcrafted by skilled bootmakers using natural leathers, corked midsoles, and steel shank arches.”

The company's factory and flagship store are in Calgary, with three further Alberta retail locations in Banff, Calgary's Southcentre Mall, and West Edmonton Mall; no site outside Alberta was found in the vendor's own pages or in local press coverage of the business.

• Alberta Boot Company Store Locations vendor_statement “121 10th Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0V8”
• Alberta Boot Company steps into 40 years of business - Calgary Journal press “quality western footwear”

The vendor calls its material 'premium all-natural leathers' and 'a wide selection of premium boot leathers including traditional cowhide, exotic skins, and specialty finishes' without naming a country, and a 2014 Jetset Mag profile lists cowhide, bull hide, kangaroo, python, lizard, ostrich, elephant, stingray, and alligator. Canada has almost no domestic tanning capacity left, so cowhide is assumed to come largely through US tanneries and the named exotic skins from outside North America; this split is an estimate, not a published figure.

• The Story Behind The Alberta Boot Company vendor_statement “premium all-natural leathers”
• Handcrafted Custom Western Boots By Alberta Boot Company vendor_statement “Alberta Boot Co offers a wide selection of premium boot leathers including traditional cowhide, exotic skins, and specialty finishes.”
• The Alberta Boot Company press “the world's best leathers and exotic skins”