For Mario Moretti Polegato, shoes that breathe aren’t just a fashion statement – they’re a necessity.
A third generation vintner, Mario was running his family’s winery in Northern Venice when his inner shoemaker was born. In a story that’s now become something of a legend, he took matters into his own hands – literally cutting holes into the soles of his shoes.
But, breathable shoes don’t solve anything if they let water in. So, after much research Mario developed technology to deal with both problems.
“The technology of Geox is all about the membrane," saids Geox store manager, Connie Gil-Soto. "We have the membrane in every shoe and every style that we have. The membrane what it does is when you walk and when you run it captures all the sweat and expels it out through all the little whole that you see on the perforated sole. The good thing about it is that although you see little holes on the bottom. The water is not going to go through cause the water molecule is bigger than the sweat molecule.”
Mario pitched the idea to major shoe companies in Europe and the United States, but got no takers. Once again, he took matters into his own hands, and Geox was born. Ten years and more than thirty patents later, Geox has become the number one footwear brand in Italy, and now ranks third worldwide.
The company went public on the Milan Stock Exchange last year and the stock has climbed 160 percent since. That success has propelled Mario onto Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List. But his work is not over. Polegato and Geox are taking on the United States.
“In every part of the world the shoes business is very difficult in every segment low price, medium price, high price,” he said.
Geox works to set itself apart by promoting its technology. Educating the consumer is at the heart of a strategy that includes a cartoon commercial featuring the Magic Geox.
Geox is also establishing its presence through stand alone stores, opening its newest on Lexington Avenue in New York and the world’s largest Geox store on Madison Avenue. It's just steps away from the biggest names in the fashion business and less than a block away from Nike, one of the companies that rejected Mario’s idea. The Madison Avenue store sells the idea that Geox is both fashion and technology. Still, the company prides itself on its Italian heritage.
“Everybody knows Italian shoes -- in Italy there exists the best stylists, the best modes and the best quality leather” said Polegato.
Geox maintains mid-level pricing to make the brand accessible. For Mario, giving everyone the opportunity to try Geox is his mission and the way he sees it, with 90% of the world wearing rubber-bottomed soled shoes, there is still a lot of room to grow.
“Everybody now must change shoes because the smelly feet era is finished,” said Polegato.