Calzaturificio Fratelli Soldini SpA is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

manufacturer founded in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

in 1945.

History

In the spring of 1944, following a tip off, the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

confiscated a machine for sewing shoes, belonging to the Soldini family. The machine was redeemed a few days later by Gustavo Soldini. Thanks to that machine, in 1945, Gustavo, together with his brothers Giuseppe and Ermenegildo began making shoes, first in a small area of their home and then in their first workshop. The market of reference was initially

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, while the deliveries were made by bicycle during the weekend. In the 1950s, Soldini opened his first factory in Capolona, on the banks of the River Arno, and then a second factory in

Anghiari Anghiari () is a hill town and municipality (''comune'') in the Province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. Bordering ''comuni'' include Arezzo (southwest), Pieve Santo Stefano (north) and Subbiano (west). History The Battle of Anghiari took place on ...

which marked the shift in production from

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industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

, with a workforce of over 800. The product was orientated towards the national marketplace, but also to

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. To meet demand, another factory was opened in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, which carried on working until 2000. In the 1980s, the United States market saw the development of competition with

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n manufacturers, especially in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

; in the 1990s, competition grew further with the arrival of emerging

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n countries such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. To deal with the

economic slump An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

, the company introduced new brands, including Stone Haven and Soldini Sport, choosing to focus on innovation. Following a fire that completely destroyed the plant in Anghiari on the night of 13–14 April 1994, Gustavo Soldini left control of the company to his son, Rossano Soldini, who became director in 1998, proceeding to make investments, innovations and differentiations of the distribution channels. From 2003 to 2007, Rossano Soldini held the role of President of the Assocalzaturifici, the National Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers. In this role, he asked the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

to introduce anti-dumping charges for importing companies such as China and Vietnam. In the 2000s, the Calzaturificio Fratelli Soldini entered into new markets, recording a series of international

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s, linked above all to new natural, breathable materials used in the lines Ecogreen, Kifu and Drymore.

Brands

The Calzaturificio Fratelli Soldini has manufactured the following brands: * Soldini Uomo * Soldini Donna * Antica Cuoieria * Stone Haven * Soldini Junior * Soldini Sport * Soldini Professional (army, hospital, agrifood, industrial and first aid){{Cite web, url=https://www.soldiniprofessional.it/en/, title=Soldini Professional {{! Professional and Safety Work Shoes and Footwear, website=Soldini Professional - Professional Work Shoes and Footwear, language=en, access-date=2018-12-19 * Ecogreen * Kifu * Drymore

References

External links

Official Site
Italian brands Privately held companies of Italy Italian companies established in 1945 Shoe brands Shoe companies of Italy Companies based in Tuscany