Geox whose firm. About the brand - geox. Large shareholders
The founder of the Italian brand Geox, Mario Moretti Polegato, never thought that he would be involved in the production of innovative shoes. The idea of "breathing boots" came to him when he went to Nevada to take part in a wine exhibition - his family was engaged in winemaking. In Nevada, he decided to seize the opportunity and take an active vacation in the Rocky Mountains. There, a shortage of climbing shoes was quickly revealed - air simply did not pass through its rubberized surface and the legs were noticeably overheated. Then Mario Polegato simply pierced the soles of his shoes - and discovered a simple and effective way to remove excess heat from the shoes.
There was only one problem - the holes in the soles were good for rock-climbing shoes, but they were completely unsuitable for shoes in which you can go out. The inventor had to spend more than one month in the family workshop to bring the idea of membranes to the form in which it was already possible to file a patent.
After several unsuccessful attempts to sell his invention to shoe companies, in 1995 Mario Polegato decided to manufacture the innovative footwear himself, under his own brand Geox, in the Italian city of Montebelluna. As the founder himself explained, the name Geox comes from the Greek root Geo, meaning "earth" and the letter "X", as a symbol of new technologies that his company brings to the world.
At first, the company used its new technology to produce only small batches of children's footwear, but in the same year it significantly increased production volumes and expanded the range to include “adult” footwear.
The company's rapid growth over the next five years allowed it to invest more and more money in innovative technologies. In 1999, the company presented a line of clothing from Geox in Italy - these were a wide variety of jackets, in the manufacture of fabrics for which the same membrane technologies were used that brought the company fame.
In 2000 the company enters international markets. Soon enough, at least one Geox brand store was in almost every capital of the world, and "breathable shoes" showed excellent sales dynamics. Already in 2001, Geox Laboratory patented the technology of "breathable leather" to create "breathable" leather soles - this allowed expanding the range of quite fashionable-looking shoes, and since 2008 the company has been manufacturing real professional shoes for sports. Today Geox exports its products to 68 countries of the world, and in terms of the number of shoes produced, it successfully ranks first in Italy and fourth in the world. The company is valued at almost $ 3 billion and its shares are successfully traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, and President and Founder Mario Moretti Polegato was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young in 2002 and is today one of the richest people on the planet. He travels the world quite actively and lectures on "Intellectual Property" at universities and business schools around the world.
He also visited Ukraine more than once, both with lectures and in order to take part in the opening of new stores, of which there are more than 10 today.
Official site.
Italy Italy: Montebelluna, Treviso
Mario Moretti Polegato, Diego Bolzonello
history of the company
The company was founded by Mario Moretti Polegato in 1995. The name of the company comes from a combination of the Greek word Geo (earth) and the letter "X", symbolizing modern technology.
Polegato was born in 1952 into a family of winemakers and developed the family business. One day he went to a wine conference in Reno. During his morning jogging in the hot Nevada desert, he was uncomfortable with overheating of his feet, and he had the idea to punch a few holes in the sole of his shoes to improve ventilation. From a small leather business owned by his family, Mario started producing breathable shoes. After several years of adapting the product to market requirements and improving production techniques, large-scale production of footwear under the Geox brand began. In 1999, in addition to footwear, the company began producing clothing.
Research and development
The production of composites that are permeable to air, but not permeable to water, requires serious technological and scientific developments. Geox holds several patents in this area. In addition to its own research center, where scientists study the characteristics of human perspiration and heat transfer, Geox collaborates with a number of large universities and laboratories to develop and test new technologies.
Since 2013, Geox has improved its membrane, it has 6 times better air permeability, 3 times improved water repellency, 3 times more resistant to abrasion and 10 times more wear resistance.
State of the art
Geox is currently one of the leaders in the production of footwear and apparel. The company's products are represented in more than a hundred countries around the world. Geox has a network of 1,150 stores and approximately 11,000 multi-brand outlets. At the same time, the franchising system is widely used.
According to industry magazine Shoe Intelligence, in 2009 Geox ranked second in the world in the Lifestyle Casual footwear sector. Geox won the 2010 CNBC European Business Leaders Awards in the Innovator of the Year category.
Largest Shareholders
- Mario Polegato Moretti - 70.98%
- Capital Research and Management Company - 4.95%
- Nordea 1 SICAV - 2.06%
Sponsoring
In 2011, Geox sponsored the Geox-TMC (formerly Footon-Servetto-Fuji) cycling team. The team failed to obtain a UCI ProTeams license, but the driver won the Vuelta de España. In the offseason, Geox management unexpectedly announced that it would stop sponsoring the bike project. The team's managers no longer had enough time to find a new general sponsor, and the team was disbanded.
In 2011, the company began a partnership with the Formula 1 racing team Red Bull Racing, creating equipment (clothing and shoes) for the drivers and team staff. And in 2012 the company became one of the main sponsors (Team Partner) of the team and placed its logo on the racing cars.
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Excerpt from Geox
- Completely. Nonsense! The main thing is to try to be respectful and reasonable with the old prince.“If he scolds, I'll leave,” said Anatole. - I hate these old people. A?
- Remember that for you everything depends on it.
At this time, in the maiden's room, not only was the arrival of the minister with his son known, but the appearance of both of them had already been described in detail. Princess Marya sat alone in her room and tried in vain to overcome her inner excitement.
“Why did they write, why did Liza tell me about it? After all, this cannot be! She said to herself, looking in the mirror. - How do I get out into the living room? If even I liked him, I would not be able to be with him by myself now. " The thought of her father's gaze terrified her.
The little princess and m lle Bourienne had already received all the information they needed from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome man the minister’s son was, and how papa forced their legs up the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking three steps, ran behind him. Having received this information, the little princess with m lle Bourienne, still heard from the corridor in their animatedly talking voices, entered the princess's room.
- Ils sont arrives, Marieie, [They arrived, Marie,] you know? - said the little princess, waddling her belly and sinking heavily into an armchair.
She was no longer in the blouse in which she sat in the morning, but she was wearing one of her best dresses; her head was carefully tucked away, and her face was full of animation, which, however, did not hide the drooping and dead outlines of her face. In the outfit that she usually wore in the societies in Petersburg, it was even more noticeable how much she had grown ugly. On m lle Bourienne, too, there was already imperceptibly some improvement in the outfit, which made her pretty, fresh face even more attractive.
- Eh bien, et vous restez comme vous etes, chere princesse? She said. - On va venir annoncer, que ces messieurs sont au salon; il faudra descendre, et vous ne faites pas un petit brin de toilette! [Well, and you stay, what were you wearing, princess? Now they will come to say that they have left. You will have to go downstairs, and you at least dress up a little!]
The little princess got up from her chair, rang the maid, and hastily and merrily began to invent an outfit for Princess Marya and put it into effect. Princess Marya felt offended in her dignity by the fact that the arrival of her promised groom worried her, and she was even more offended by the fact that both her friends did not imagine that it could be otherwise. To tell them how ashamed she was for herself and for them was to betray her excitement; besides, giving up the outfit that was offered to her would lead to prolonged jokes and insistence. She flushed, her beautiful eyes faded, her face was covered with spots, and with that ugly expression of a victim that most often resides on her face, she surrendered herself to the power of m lle Bourienne and Lisa. Both women cared quite sincerely about making her beautiful. She was so bad that none of them could think of competing with her; therefore, they completely sincerely, with that naive and firm conviction of women that an outfit can make a face beautiful, began to dress her.
“No, really, ma bonne amie, [my good friend,] this dress is not good,” Liza said, glancing sideways at the princess from afar. - Tell me to serve, you have a masaka there. Right! Well, after all this, perhaps, the fate of life is being decided. And this is too light, not good, no, not good!
It was not the dress that was bad, but the face and the whole figure of the princess, but m lle Bourienne and the little princess did not feel this; it seemed to them that if they put a blue ribbon to the hair, combed up, and pull down the blue scarf from the brown dress, etc., then everything will be fine. They forgot that the frightened face and figure could not be changed, and therefore, no matter how they modified the frame and decoration of this face, the face itself remained pitiful and ugly. After two or three changes, to which Princess Marya dutifully obeyed, the minute she was combed up (a hairstyle that completely changed and spoiled her face), wearing a blue scarf and an elegant dress, the little princess walked around her two times, with a small hand Here she straightened the fold of her dress, tugged at her scarf and looked with her head bowed, now from one side or the other.
“No, that’s not allowed,” she said resolutely, throwing up her hands. - Non, Marie, decidement ca ne vous va pas. Je vous aime mieux dans votre petite robe grise de tous les jours. Non, de grace, faites cela pour moi. [No, Marie, this is definitely not going to you. I love you better in your gray daily dress: please do it for me.] Katya, - she said to the maid, - bring the princess a gray dress, and see, m lle Bourienne, how I will arrange it, - she said with a smile of anticipation of an artistic joy.
But when Katya brought the required dress, Princess Marya sat motionless in front of the mirror, looking at her face, and in the mirror saw that there were tears in her eyes, and that her mouth was trembling, preparing for sobs.
“Voyons, chere princesse,” said m lle Bourienne, “encore un petit effort. [Well, princess, just a little effort.]
Geox Is an Italian famous brand that produces so-called "breathable" shoes, as well as clothing for men, women and children.
The history of the Geox shoe brand
The brand began its existence in 1995 thanks to the chance and ingenuity of its founder, Mario Polegato. Mario himself did not even think about getting involved in the shoe business, because he was born into a family that has been dealing with wine for more than one generation and, as an heir, was also going to become a famous winemaker. However, fate decreed otherwise, inspiration on Mario descended on one of his trips to Reno: the city is famous for its very warm climate and after his next run under the sultry sun Polegato, suffering from overheating and discomfort, decided that a small modernization of his shoes would not hurt and did several holes in the sole for better ventilation.
Mario liked his own invention so much that he decided that something could come of it and went with his original idea to the largest Italian shoe manufacturers. However, they did not share his enthusiasm and simply refused to cooperate, then Mario decided to start producing shoes himself.
The story began back in 1993. Italian Mario Poligatto arrived in one American state of Nevada for a huge conference of winemakers. Mario inherited a small family company that produced, and at this conference he was going to learn about the latest trends in the wine market.
But while jogging in the local hills in the morning, he felt his feet sweat terribly in the heat in ordinary heavy sports shoes. It was then that the first business idea appeared: it is elementary to make a couple of holes in sneakers.
Returning to Italy, Mario released a small trial batch of breathable shoes. Before that, the Poligato family had a small business for the production of leather goods, and there were no particular difficulties with the production.
The Italian did not dare to enter the market immediately. It took another couple of years to adapt the new product and improve the technology. Soon, the GEOX brand was created with the slogan “shoes that breathe”. The name of the company consists of two words: geo - "earth" and the English letter X, denoting innovation and the use of modern technologies.
The first pancake is always lumpy. Many shoe exhibitions were not taken seriously. But Mario then decided to test it on a small batch of children's shoes. This venture was crowned with tremendous success, and he decided to start large-scale production of his products.
The market volume was huge. It found that 98% of people wore “non-breathable” shoes with thick rubber soles. The result came almost immediately.
Wholesalers ordered more and more new batches. The company was not going to stop at the achieved result. Colossal funds were invested in development and research. Scientists and engineers have been working to further develop the idea of comfortable clothing. In early 1999, Mario finally decided to enter the world markets for breathable apparel and sports shoes.
GEOX is currently the world's second largest shoe manufacturer in terms of market share, with annual gross margins of around $ 60 million. The factories of the company are located on 3 continents, and the products are distributed all over the world "
GEOX products are represented in more than 100 countries around the world. The network includes 1,150 stores and about 11,000 multi-brand outlets. The franchising system is widespread. According to Shoe Intelligence, Geox ranked second worldwide in 2009 in the Lifestyle Casual footwear sector, which translates to casual footwear. In 2010, she won the Innovator of the Year category. The firm was recognized as the innovator of the year. Find out also about the specialist in sustainable clothing and sports equipment. 
Major shareholders:
- The main share of 70.98% is held by Mario Polegato Moretti;
- Capital Research and Management Company owns 4.95% of shares;
- Nordea 1 SICAV - 2.06%.
Sponsoring events
In 2011, Geox sponsored the Geox-TMC cycling team. The team did not receive a UCI ProTeams license, but their driver managed to win the Vuelta de España. In the offseason, Geox executives inexplicably announced they would no longer sponsor the bike project. The team managers did not manage to find a new general sponsor, which led to the disbandment of the team.
Naturally sponsorship of large events significantly increases the success of the firm. As for Adidas, the company's sponsorship of the Olympic Games contributed to the increase in sales. 
In 2011, Geox began partnering with the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 racing team. Equipment (clothing and footwear) was released for the team's staff and riders. The following year, the company became one of the main sponsors of the team, after which it placed its corporate logo on the cars participating in the races.
The story of one of the richest men in the world, the Italian Mario Poligato, begins in 1963. It was during this time period that the future millionaire arrives in one of the states of America - Nevada. The purpose of his visit is not related to the production of Geox footwear, which is popular today. Then Mario was still engaged in wine. He inherited a wine company. Nevada hosts a conference of winemakers, which discusses the latest in the international wine market.
As a person with a healthy lifestyle, Mario runs daily in the morning. In Nevada, where the climate is significantly different from that of Italy, during one of the traditional morning marathons, he suddenly realizes how hard it is for his feet in sneakers to be in the hot sun rays of the desert area. This prompted a successful winemaker to implement a new business idea - the creation of lightweight breathable sports shoes through the presence of holes in them.
Immediately after returning to Italy, the enterprising Mario invests in the production of the first series of sports shoes with holes based on his family's leather goods business.
New sports shoes have not been introduced to the market for a long time. Only a few years later, Mario decides to present his new technology to the world. The breathable technology was instantly appreciated by athletic shoe consumers. Soon enough, everyone involved in sportswear and footwear became aware of the new GEOX brand, founded by Mario Poligato. The name of the brand was not chosen by chance. Translated from English, the word geo means "earth", and the letter X - the use of innovative technologies.
The slogan of the new shoe brand GEOX was chosen by Mario “shoes that breathe”.
Despite the many positive reviews of the new sports footwear proposal, there were also instances when GEOX technology was reluctant to be taken seriously. However, similar difficulties are faced by another, newly opened business. However, Poligato found a way to prove otherwise. He released a small series of GEOX children's shoes. The product was instantly appreciated by parents who want the best for their children. The whole batch of children's shoes that breathe literally flew apart. This prompted Mario to start a large-scale production of GEOX footwear.
The production volumes of footwear grew every day. Numerous studies by GEOX have shown that over 95% of athletic shoe consumers are not satisfied with the quality of their products, primarily because they are based on dense rubber soles.
Having appreciated the quality of the breathable GEOX footwear, more and more people wanted to buy a pair of these boots. Wholesale orders grew every day. As a result of the increase in profit from sales of GEOX products, the owner of the company Mario Poligato decided to invest in the development of technologies that would increase the level of comfort while wearing shoes and clothes. By the end of the 90s, Mario's business entered the world arena of "breathable" sports shoes, and then clothing.
Today the GEOX company is a leading manufacturer of quality footwear, known all over the world. The company's annual profit is about $ 60,000,000. GEOX factories are located on three continents of the world. The products of this manufacturer are known all over the world.
About a hundred countries around the world sell GEOX products. The trading network of the companies includes over one thousand branded stores and about eleven thousand retail outlets.
Mario Poligato never stopped there. In order for his business to develop, he implemented a franchising system in it.
In 2009, GEOX products were ranked second in the Lifestyle Casual footwear ranking - the best casual footwear. A year later, GEOX received the Grand Prix in the Innovator of the Year nomination. Then the business of Mario was named the innovator of the year.
Now the main part of GEOX is owned by Mario Polegato (71%), about 5% - by Capital Research and Management Company, the rest - by Nordea 1 SICAV. GEOX is often a participant in sponsorship projects. So, in 2011, a cycling tournament was organized with her participation. According to analysts, this type of activity has a positive effect on the popularization of the company's products. The main manufacturers of sporting goods - ADIDAS, NIKE, etc., resort to similar measures.
By the way, GEOX often partnered with the Formula 1 racing team organized by Red Bull Racing.