Harold Alfond (March 6, 1914 – November 16, 2007) was an American businessman who founded the Dexter Shoe Company and established the first factory outlet store.

After graduating from high school in 1934, Alfond got a job at Kesslen Shoe Company in Kennebunk, Maine, where his father worked.

There, he produced shoes for the private label catalog market, supplying stores such as Sears, JC Penney, Spiegel, and Montgomery Ward & Co.

Although Dexter was successful from the beginning, Alfond tired of being controlled by a few large customers and decided to go into the "branded" business.

The practice in the industry was to sell these shoes to jobbers for about a dollar a pair, who would then resell them for five times their cost.

This worked so well that Dexter's log-cabin-style outlet stores started appearing on all the heavily traveled roads throughout New England.

About this time, Dexter also stopped building freestanding log cabins and began leasing stores in outlet malls.

Many were national retail chains that promised rapid expansion, but would emphasize foreign production and likely, a departure from Dexter's family style of running the business.

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

Along with other investors, Alfond helped create Belgrade Lakes Golf Club, a course close to his summer home.

In 1943, Alfond married Dorothy Levine,[15] who was also Jewish;[17] they raised four children: Ted, Susan, Bill, and Peter who grew to provide them with thirteen grandchildren.