All C-Suite Interviews articles
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Blusun enters second year looking to ramp up sales, expand outside of Europe
When Dirk Pfeffer and Silvia Brindlmayer set up their barefoot footwear brand Blusun last year, they knew what they wanted and what they did not. At the heart of their vision were shoes featuring high quality materials, reasonable prices and a sustainable and socially responsible supply chain. Pfeffer and Brindlmayer ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Velasca aims to double its store network by end 2028
In less than a year, Velasca, a Milan-based footwear and apparel retailer, has opened 10 shops, bringing the number of locations to 30 worldwide. By the end of 2028, the goal is to double that number to 60. After opening a third store in Paris and a second one in ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Rohde expects to continue growing in 2025
After increasing revenues by 4.5 percent in 2024 to €24.2 million, Rohde expects to continue growing this year as it expands its fledgling US and online businesses. “In 2025, we should go up by another 10-11 percent to €27 million in turnover,’ says the Chief Executive Officer, Renato Lo Presti, ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Pegada plans to open 100 stores worldwide this year
Pegada, a Brazilian footwear company located in Dois Irmãos in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, plans to open about 100 stores this year. The company, whose name means “footprint” in Portuguese was founded in 1989 by two brothers with two of their cousins, churns out 7 million pairs ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Piccadilly celebrates 70 years with good growth prospects
Piccadilly is one of the oldest shoe companies in Brazil. Founded in 1955 by Almiro Grings, it started with an initial production of 12 pairs of shoes a day. Today it exports to 100 countries around the world and has a turnover of approximately 600 million Brazilian reais ($120 million). ...
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ArticleC-Suite interview: Zhejiang Huanqiu seeks European distributors and an outdoor brand
Zhejiang Huanqiu Shoes Co. Ltd, a Chinese footwear group that owns the Huanqiu and Babaya brands, is seeking distributors in Western Europe, with a focus on France, Italy and Germany as well as an interest in Spain and the UK. The group is also keen on acquiring an outdoor brand ...
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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 ...
