BREWER – As Internet, discount and big-box stores put a strain on many local independent shoe shops, a boot seller in Brewer has preserved his niche and continues to prosper.

Mike Allen, 59, owner of Winterport Boot Shop at 264 State St., in Twin City Plaza, said in a recent interview that there are three secrets to his success: excellent customer service, well-stocked shelves and forward thinking.

“We have enough depth of inventory and we’re agile enough to make whatever changes the customers and the market need us to,” Allen said. “The customer is much better educated and fussier than they were years ago.”

Allen meets fussy head on. Buying one of his heavy-duty work, military, hunting, hiking or Western boots is unlike any other retail shopping experience. In fact, it’s a lot like going to the doctor.

When a customer first visits Winterport Boot Shop, Allen, his wife, Donna, or one of the five other employees measures the length, width, arch and pressure points of the customer’s foot using two machines.

Allen pronounced the left foot of one recent customer to be “one-sixth of an inch larger than the right.”

After a boot is selected, Allen disappears behind a blue curtain and enters a storage area several times the size of his showroom. There lie more than 15,000 boxes of boots, filling tall, seemingly endless rows of shelves. About 85 percent of customers are male, manager Geoff Battick said, and the store stocks men’s sizes 4 to 18 in nine different widths.

When Allen finds a match and gains a new customer, he enters the person’s name and purchase information into a computer database. The system, which dates to 2001, stores more than 30,000 customer records, with sizing information and notes on every boot the customers have ever bought and any problems they have encountered.

“That way, they can just come in and we already know what they need,” said Donna Allen, who recently returned to the showroom floor after rearing two children and working behind the scenes on the store’s advertising.

Winterport Boot’s industrial customers include the state of Maine, Cianbro, International Paper, General Electric and many municipalities across the state.

Perhaps more challenging than providing individualized customer service has been adapting to the changing needs of Maine’s work force. Boots for loggers and millworkers – once prime clientele – are no longer in such high demand. Winterport Boot has adjusted by entering the uniform business. It now stocks and ships law enforcement, military, EMT and security worker clothing, accessories and, of course, footgear. That business is booming, and Allen recently expanded the store to accommodate a showroom for the new product lines.

The success of Winterport Boot has caught the eye of many of the 12 brands of shoes Allen sells in his store. Minnesota-based Red Wing Shoe Co. has appointed Allen to its 10-member board of dealer consultants. He attends annual meetings and makes suggestions for the design of future Red Wing shoes and its Worx line of boots.

Battick, a 21-year employee, sits on a similar design board for Danner and LaCrosse Footwear brands.

Allen and Battwick said the influx of big-box stores has helped, not hurt, their business. Customers wanting rugged, long-lasting boots and attentive service come to Winterport Boot Shop, they said.

“Not all independents are struggling,” Allen said.

Winterport Boot Shop is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and is closed Sunday and Monday. The store may be reached at 989-6492 or online at www.winterportboot.com.