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Our Story

Aleva Stores is a family of brands committed to providing top-quality products and exceptional service through operational excellence and innovative thinking. Today, we’re an online retailer that operates multiple online stores and a marketing agency that helps brands navigate the world of online marketplaces like Amazon. While we’re always looking toward the future as our company innovates and expands, we cannot forget our rich history and where it all began.

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Aleva Stores is a family of brands unified by a central principle: providing exceptional service and top-quality products to each and everyone we serve. Through creativity, innovation, and collaboration, we will meet the unique needs of our customers, clients and partners.

Family Values

Our founder, Joseph Gaskins, was born in 1914 as one of ten children on a small farm in southern Indiana. At the tender age of three, Mr. G, as we came to know him, lost his leg to an infection. He used crutches every day for ten years as he tended to his daily chores and traveled to and from school. With guidance from his parents and their tight-knit, humble community, he developed a can-do attitude and kind, adventurous spirit.

After being fit for his first prosthetic as a young man, he chose to dedicate his life to helping others in need of quality prosthetics. In the late 1930s, Joseph moved to Michigan and by 1957, had opened a small prosthetic fabrication business in Pontiac, Michigan. Nearly 60 years later, that first venture has grown to become the Aleva family of brands where his son Larry, grandson Derek and their wonderful staff carry on his legacy.

Mr. G taught us the importance of humility, compassion and a positive attitude. These characteristics have been instilled in each generation of our Aleva family and continually yield opportunities for us to learn and grow while always placing the customer first. He is greatly missed by us all, but we know he is smiling down on us as we continue in his humble footsteps, never losing sight of our customers and their needs.
1957
American Orthopedic is founded in Pontiac, Michigan.
1960
Larry Gaskins begins working alongside his father, Joseph Gaskins in the family business and takes the helm of the company shortly thereafter.
1986
American Orthopedic updates its name to American Medical Services to better represent the expanded product and service offerings.
1998
Derek Gaskins joins the family business and begins developing an online retailing presence on eBay

Expanding Brands

In 2005, the company expanded their presence in the online retail space with the launch of For Your Legs and quickly became the online leader in the compression therapy retail space.

By 2011, Aleva Stores, through strategic acquisitions and site launches, expanded their market from medical compression and hosiery to include running, hiking and lifestyle socks from top brands like Smartwool, Darn Tough, Wigwam and Stego at SocksAddict.com. That success was built upon with the addition of Diabetic Sock Shop, Pike to Peak and Bib and Tucker. Now, in addition to the compression wear that started the company, the Aleva family of brands offers hiking and adventure gear like The North Face, men’s personal care products and more.

In 2015, Aleva launched Retail Bloom, a marketing agency focused on helping brands navigate the world of online marketplaces. Retail Bloom provides launch guidance, identity and channel analysis, life-cycle marketplace strategy and long-term support to consumer brands.
2005
American Medical Services makes its online debut with the launch of ForYourLegs.com and opens its first warehouse in Pontiac, Michigan.
2008
American Medical Services becomes Aleva Stores.
2010
Aleva Stores relocates to Rochester Hills, Michigan and increases warehouse space to over 60,000 sq. ft. total. DocOrtho.com is acquired.
2011
SocksAddict.com is launched.
2012
DiabeticSockShop.com and PikeToPeak.com are launched.
2013
After shipping nearly 600,000 orders in 2013, Aleva surpasses $30 Million in annual revenue.
2014
BibAndTucker.com is launched, bringing the total number of brands in the Aleva family to ten.
2015
In 2015, Aleva launched Retail Bloom, a marketing agency focused on helping brands navigate the world of online marketplaces. Retail Bloom provides launch guidance, identity, and channel analysis, life-cycle marketplace strategy and long-term support to consumer brands.
2016
Several house brands are launched including Doc Ortho, Bib & Tucker, Venda Medical, VenActive, Stego, Inocep and Actifi.
2018
Rejuvahealth is acquired.
2019
An additional 28,000 sq. ft. facility is opened in Rochester Hills, Michigan to support rapid growth.

People are the Story Behind Our Success

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Brands Making a Difference in People's Lives

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Our Commitment
to Community

In addition to our commitment to our customers and employees, we believe it’s important to give back through volunteering and charitable donations.

Make-A-Wish® Michigan Foundation

Each year Aleva Stores President Derek Gaskins puts on a golf outing for the Make-A-Wish® Michigan Foundation. He also participates in the Wish-A-Mile® Bicycle Tour every year, which is the single largest fundraising event for Make-A-Wish® Michigan. Aleva supports the Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour each year by donating custom Make-A-Wish socks for participants.

Pair with Purchase

House brand Stego makes a Charity Series sock, with 25% of the purchase price going to Make-A-Wish® Michigan. Additionally, house medical brand VenActive offers a One Pair Purchased, One Pair Donated program.

Heart 2 Hart Detroit

Through our partnership with Heart 2 Hart Detroit, we have donated over 1,000 pairs of high-quality socks to homeless people in Detroit. H2HD is an organization who hands out life-sustaining items to hundreds of homeless and needy Detroiters.