All C-Suite Interviews articles
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ArticleC-Suite interview: BFShow to grow with the Brazilian footwear industry
Haroldo Ferreira, the president of Brazilian footwear association Abicalçados, expects BFShow to grow in lockstep with the Brazilian footwear industry and believes that a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur will also be beneficial to European shoemakers. BFShow is the trade show promoted by Abicalçados in partnership ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Floredeasoka targets the US bridal market
Floredeasoka, a fast growing Spanish startup that produces bridal shoes, is considering raising funds to finance its internationalization with a focus on the US market. Flordeasoka was created in 2018 by Tita Guerrero and two of her four daughters, Elena and Inés Bonet, and currently produces 20,000 pairs of shoes ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Xero Shoes looks to US wholesale, Europe for growth
Xero Shoes is looking to bolster its domestic wholesale business and leverage strong growth rates in Europe to underpin a new phase of expansion for the US barefoot footwear specialist founded 15 years ago. Dan Dougherty, EU managing director and the head of wholesale activities at Xero Shoes globally, tells ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview - Trade shows have to speak the same language as exhibitors
On Sept. 9, 2024, Assocalzaturifici, the Italian association of shoemakers, announced the appointment of Giorgio Possagno as General Manager. The position had been vacant since the departure of Tommaso Cancellara on April 5, 2022. Aged 53, Possagno started his career with the tire maker Pirelli, where he worked at the ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Being listed on the stock market improved our governance - Nice Footwear
The Italian footwear company Nice Footwear was listed on the Milan stock exchange for just over a year from Nov. 18, 2021 to March 3, 2023, when it was delisted following a public tender offer (PTO) launched by the Italian private equity firm Palladio Holding to buy out the minority ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Fly Flot expands beyond slippers
In an attempt to attract a younger clientele, Fly Flot is expanding its collection beyond slippers and clogs to include sneakers and moccasins for both women and men. Shoes now account for 10 percent of production and the target is to double the share. Based near the Northern Italian town ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Quanticlo's founders are satisfied with the company’s current structure
After enjoying strong growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in lockdowns supporting online sales, Quanticlo reached a plateau in 2021, when sales amounted to €5 million, 58 percent more than the pre-pandemic level of 2019. Revenues stayed around that level for the following two years as the Italian online ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: SJ hires a designer to build up its brand identity and starts rolling out its retail concept
SJ, the brand launched simultaneously in Europe and Asia by the Belgian footwear group Cortina in January, has hired an external consultant, Germain Thomine, to help develop its product range and fine tune its image. Meanwhile, SJ is honing its retailing skills in Asia thanks to the opening of points ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Lack of personnel is a global issue for the footwear industry
Over the past 18 months, the management of Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags has visited the main footwear manufacturing countries of the world, as well as key consumer markets, as part of its efforts to promote the trade show and bolster its international reach. In an interview with Shoe Intelligence, ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Rocas surfs the waves to the shores of Europe
From the beach in the province of Buenos Aires to the world. So begins the story of the wholly Argentinean brand Rocas and of its founders, Maria Elena Tapia and Guido Joachim, two young people in love with the sea and the waves. The name Rocas in Spanish – stones ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Palmroth plans to double its sales in three years
Palmroth is a family-owned footwear company based in Tampere, Finland, whose history dates back to 1928. Largely centered on winter shoes, the brand aims to double its sales volumes within the next three years. Run by Mikko Palmroth, who represents the third generation at the helm, the company sells annually ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Sioux sees light at the end of the tunnel in the German footwear market
Despite overtaking Japan to become the world’s third largest economy, Germany is a matter of concern for many observers due to its weak economy and depressed consumer confidence. In a comprehensive interview with Shoe Intelligence, Lewin Berner, the CEO of the German footwear company Sioux outlines his view about the ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Rohde enters the U.S. market and expands its European online business
Rohde is continuing its recovery by entering the U.S. market and expanding to most of Europe its business-to-consumer (B2C) online platform, which is currently limited to Germany. On May 3–4, 2023, Rohde took part as an “education sponsor” in the Leadership Conference of the US National Shoe Retailers Association held ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Easywalk aims to consolidate the Covid-19 boom
IGF is a producer of sandals and slippers for men, women and children, sold under the brand name Easywalk, situated in the footwear cluster of Barletta in the South Italian region of Puglia. In 2022, it booked sales of €4 million, underpinned by demand for comfortable clothing by people housebound ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: El Naturalista continues recovering and investing in new projects
El Naturalista expects sales to rise by 5 percent in 2023, after a 4 percent advance in 2022, as the Rioja-based footwear company continues to recover from the sharp decline caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Jorge Hernández, the company’s global sales manager. After achieving a turnover of €28 ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Italy shoe making is attracting investments but faces labor constraints
The Italian footwear industry is attracting investment from luxury goods brands and financial investors, which is bolstering its competitiveness. However, the industry’s development remains hamstrung by a lack of skilled labor, explains Giovanna Ceolini, the president of Assocalzaturifici, the Italian footwear association, in an exclusive interview with Shoe Intelligence. ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Pablosky ready to leave the beaten track to explore new markets
Even though Spain remains its main market, Pablosky, a Spanish company specialized in children’s shoes, has been very active over the past decades at developing its international reach. And in doing so, it often abandoned the beaten track to explore new geographies. The company, which was founded in 1969, first ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Autry’s owner looks to cash in on success as it puts the brand up for sale
The owner of the fast-growing sneakers brand Autry is looking to cash in on its success with a sale to a new investor. The private equity Made in Italy Fund, managed by the Italian asset management company Quadrivio and the fashion consultancy Pambianco, acquired a controlling stake in Autry along ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: On-demand production is key to Alohas’ success
Alohas’ revenues surged from €100,000 in 2015 to over €27 million in 2022, an extraordinary growth rate that has transformed in a few years a Catalan startup producing summer shoes into an international brand. The company made the quantum leap during the Covid-19 pandemic, when most of the footwear industry ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: NeroGiardini aims to double in three years its sales from the Covid-19 trough
After three difficult years, that led to a significant reduction in sales, NeroGiardini is focusing on new markets to sell its wholly Italian made footwear. This year the Italian company will be entering the South Korean market.
