About Us
Our Story
William Ross began out of a frustration while shopping for dress shoes to wear at a wedding. It was hard to find the quality of shoe I was looking for at a reasonable price point. After settling for a cheap pair that fell apart a few months later I realized something needed to change.
I set out on a journey to make the best dress shoes you could find for under $200. After several months of searching the world for the perfect factory I found a group of master craftsmen with decades of experience in a small Spanish village. Using the highest quality raw materials and time honored techniques these artisans helped create exactly what I was looking for!
In addition to making great shoes, William Ross is passionate about using business as a means of giving back. We donate10% of all our profits to charity: water. Furthermore, we donate shoes that don’t pass our rigorous quality control process to Soles for Souls.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Patrick McGinty
The Process
Why the name William Ross?
The man behind the name
My grandfather, or as I called him “Paw Paw”, is the inspiration and name behind William Ross.
From the moment I began dreaming of this company, I knew I wanted to create a brand that placed people over profit. Paw Paw was one of the best men that I’ve ever known. He taught me to treat others with love and respect by constantly striving to serve those around him. As a company we will do our best to honor his legacy and make each of our customers feel valued and appreciated while also giving 10% of our profits to those in need.
As our brand values and priorities were solidified my Paw Paw became a natural namesake.
For the People. For the World.
10% of profits to charity: water
For the People - Our goal at William Ross is to create premium dress shoes, made from the finest materials, that are accessible to men at all stages of their life. To pass the savings on to you we operate a lean business model, remove the middlemen, and reduce our margin. We’re for the people by putting you, the customer, first.
For the World - Every pair of shoes we sell will help provide clean drinking water to 2-4 people in need. Everyday 663 million people drink dirty water*. Clean water can improve health, boost local economies, empower women, and give kids more time in school. We’re for the world by using business to give back to those in need.
Our Business Model
Luxury Shoes. Affordable Prices.
We believe that premium men’s dress shoes should be accessible to the everyday man. In order to offer luxury shoes for under $200 we needed to look at non-traditional ways of doing business.
We spent months finding a factory that values their product, business relationships, and reputation over cutting corners to maximize profit. They share our values and help us maintain a lean manufacturing process. The lean process coupled with our ability to sell direct-to-consumer, eliminating the need for costly retail markups, makes it possible to maintain the highest standards on quality and affordability.
By selling limited quantities in our monthly drops we know exactly how many shoes we need to produce and in what sizes. This helps us reduce waste, minimize the need for excess inventory, and bring you the highest quality shoes for the best possible price!