NotFiftyOne

Dayton Boots

Canadian-owned · made in Canada · based in British Columbia

Vancouver bootmaker hand-crafting boots in its East Vancouver factory since 1946, now operated by Wohlford & Company Inc. after a 2023 change of ownership, sold direct online.

Vancouver, BC CA · www.wohlford.ca

86.2

Dayton Boots is a Vancouver bootmaker founded in 1946 that still hand-crafts boots at its East Vancouver factory using traditional methods. Its long-time operator ran into a wage dispute and unpaid loans, and in 2023 the brand and factory were taken over by Wohlford & Company Inc., a federal corporation majority owned by Vancouver resident Roderick Risk. Leather comes from two Illinois tanneries and soles are the Italian-headquartered Vibram brand, with boots sold only direct from the vendor's own site.

Factors

Ownership

100.0 verified

CA 100%

Corporations Canada's individuals with significant control register names Roderick Risk, a Vancouver resident, as the sole individual with significant control of Wohlford & Company Inc., holding more than 50 and up to 75 percent of the shares directly since 2018-04-05. The registry's corporation number and business number match the numbered entity the vendor's own terms of service names as the site's rights holder. Wohlford & Company took over the Dayton Boots brand and factory in 2023 after the prior operator, Dayton Boots Co. Ltd., was deregistered in British Columbia and its former management sued by Royal Bank for unpaid loans.

Manufacturing

100.0 reported

CA 100%

The vendor states every boot is hand crafted in its own Vancouver factory using the same traditional methods since 1946, now at a temporary location on Glen Drive after a fire displaced the original East Hastings shop. Madeincanadadirectory.ca repeats the same nearly-70-year, 230-step production claim, and no outsourced manufacturing was found.

People

100.0 verified

CA 100%

Corporations Canada lists the registered office at 734 Glen Dr, Vancouver, the same address the vendor gives for its factory, its contact page, and its current job postings for production and sales staff. No other office, warehouse, or facility is disclosed anywhere on the site.

Inputs

8.0 reported

CA 15% · EU 20% · other 5% · US 60%

The vendor names Horween Leathers and Seidel Tanning Corp, both in Illinois, as its cowhide suppliers, leather being the boots' dominant material, and specifies Vibram outsoles, a brand headquartered in Italy. The storefront runs on Shopify, a Canadian platform. Thread, eyelets, and other trim are not sourced, so the split is an estimate weighted toward the named US tanneries.

Where to buy

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