PORTLAND, Maine — When the U.S. Olympic team makes its entrance in Rio de Janeiro later this year, they’ll be wearing pairs of shoes handcrafted by the Lewiston shoemaker Rancourt & Co.
Team USA uniform designer Ralph Lauren featured the company’s father-and-son team Michael and Kyle Rancourt in a video published last week, highlighting the various domestic companies taking part in making the team’s uniforms for the 2016 summer games.
“My dad got the call and texted me that Ralph Lauren was making shoes for the Olympic team and they wanted us to make them,” Kyle Rancourt, the company’s vice president, recalls in the video.
The Sun Journal reported that the company started production in September on 2,000 of the red, white and blue Olympic boat shoes, for which every part of the shoe was sourced in Maine. About 1,100 pairs of the shoes will go to members of the Olympic and Paralympic teams, and the rest will be sold in Ralph Lauren stores.
The company has made private-label shoes for Ralph Lauren before landing the Olympics deal. Michael Rancourt said in the promotional video that the company has gone from 20 employees to 65, in part because of its private-label work with Ralph Lauren.
The Sun Journal reported the company’s largest private-label customer is Cole Haan.
Michael Rancourt, the company’s president, said in the video that the Olympic team deal would give its brand a new level of international exposure.
“This is probably the most exciting singular event that we’ve ever participated in because we’re actually making shoes for the Olympic team and showcasing them on this world stage,” Michael Rancourt said.