Borovo is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n shoe manufacturer. It was founded in 1931 in the village of Borovo near Vukovar. It had its greatest success during the time of the former SFR Yugoslavia thanks to its own production shoes as well as its most famous product, ''Borosana'' shoes.

History

Early years

Borovo was founded on June 7, 1931 by the Czech industrialist

Tomáš Baťa Tomáš Baťa () (3 April 1876 – 12 July 1932) was a Czech entrepreneur and founder of the Bata shoe company. His career was cut short when he died in a plane accident due to bad weather. His half-brother Jan Antonín Baťa took over his compa ...

and started the production of footwear on the outskirts of Vukovar. Already in the first years of its existence, the Bata factory switched to a combined organization. In 1933, the production of technical rubber goods began, and Bata became one of the first companies in Croatia in the field of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

industry.

Later years

After the end of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945, the factory was nationalized and the Borovo Rubber and Footwear Factory was established. Under this name and through various organizational forms, Borovo continued to work until 1991. In the period from 1947 to the end of the 1980s, Borovo grew into the largest and most economically powerful company in the production and sale of footwear and rubber in this part of Europe. In 1968, ''Borosana'' shoes for special purposes were produced. It was developed by a team of experts led by orthopedist dr. Branko Strinović, and even today it is the trademark of Borovo. Startas Borovo Rijeka 0509

Then, in 1976, a sneaker called ''Startas'' was released on the market, which was originally intended for playing

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, but has grown into the company's biggest brand to this day. They peaked in popularity after being the official footwear for the

1987 Summer Universiade The 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members of teams. Infrastructural cha ...

. Due to the war in 1991, Borovo stopped operating, and many of its buildings were destroyed. The management of Borovo worked from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

from 1992 to 1997, and production took place in

Donji Miholjac Donji Miholjac ( hu, Alsómiholjác, german: Unter-Miholtz) is a town in the Slavonia region of Croatia, on the river Drava and the border with Hungary. Population In the 2011 census, there were 9,491 inhabitants in the area, 95% of whom were C ...

. When Borovo took possession of its property in Vukovar in 1998, it organized itself as a business group and started producing footwear and technical rubber at its home location.

Modern-day Borovo

Today's business areas of Borovo are: * production of leather and rubber footwear * wholesale * retail * trade abroad In 2008, the production of leather footwear was moved to the newly renovated and technologically equipped building of Obućara nova. In the same year, Borovo released ''Boromina'', modernized version of ''Borosana'' shoes.

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

's representative for the

2022 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ...

Konstrakta Ana Đurić (; sr-Cyrl, Ана Ђурић, ; , ; born 12 October 1978), known professionally as Konstrakta ( sr-Cyrl, Констракта), is a Serbian singer and songwriter. She had risen to prominence as the lead vocalist of the indie pop b ...

, wore white ''Borosana'' shoes at her performance in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. After the final, the popularity of the ''Borosana'' shoes grew, and the press reported on how the footwear was procured through the efforts of

Dejan Aćimović Dejan Aćimović (born 20 May 1963) is a Bosnian-Croatian actor and film director. He was born in Čapljina, SFR Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina. As an actor, his work included principal and supporting roles in numerous films, both wi ...

and

Zrinko Ogresta Zrinko Ogresta (born 5 October 1958) is a Croatian screenwriter and film director, professor of film directing at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and a member of the European Film Academy in Berlin. Praised for their strong visual style, ...

.{{Cite web , last=N.N , date=2022-05-20 , title=Konstrakta digla popularnost borosanama , url=https://www.nezavisne.com/ekonomija/trziste/Konstrakta-digla-popularnost-borosanama/719314 , access-date=2022-07-24 , website=Nezavisne novine , language=sr

References

Rubber industry Shoe companies Companies of Croatia Vukovar