14 Facts About Harold Alfond

Harold Alfond was an American businessman who founded the Dexter Shoe Company and established the first factory outlet store.

In high school, Harold Alfond was an outstanding athlete and developed his passion for sports.

In 1956, Harold Alfond left, purchased an old woolen mill in Dexter, Maine, and founded Dexter Shoe Company.

Harold Alfond developed a line of shoes under the Dexter name, hired a sales force and began selling to independent shoe stores across the country.

Harold Alfond is often credited with the invention of the factory outlet store.

Harold Alfond thought that was a pretty good mark-up, so in the 1960s he opened an outlet store at Dexter's Skowhegan factory and started selling his own factory seconds.

Soon, the factories weren't making enough mistakes to supply the store, so Harold Alfond decided to put in stale inventory.

Harold Alfond eventually decided to sell to Berkshire Hathaway, with an agreement to not interfere with the family's continued management of the business.

In December 2003, five years after his $1.65-million donation for the athletic and recreation center, Harold Alfond contributed $1 million to St Joseph's towards the $10 million needed to build Harold Alfond Hall, the college's primary academic hall.

In 2007, having lived with cancer for 17 years, Harold Alfond donated $7 million to a cancer care center at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.

Harold Alfond was the obvious choice and ever since Dexter has been a limited partner in the franchise.

When Dexter was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 1993, the Harold Alfond family retained its stake in the team, a stake that remains in the hands of two of his sons.

In 1943, Harold Alfond married Dorothy Levine, who was Jewish; they raised four children: Ted, Susan, Bill, and Peter who grew to provide them with thirteen grandchildren.

One of the grandsons, Justin Harold Alfond, was elected to the Maine Senate in 2008, and was elected Senate President in 2012.