Grendene is a Brazilian company that is the world's largest manufacturer of

sandals Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...

. It was founded by Alexandre Grendene Bartelle and his twin brother Pedro Grendene Bartelle.

History

In 1971, the Bartelle brothers, Alexandre and Pedro, began to create plastic basket holders for wine that was produced in the mountains of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. 5 years later, the company began producing plastic parts for farm machinery, eventually evolving to producing soles and heels for shoes. In 1979, Grendene produced their first sandal, the Melissa Aranha, after Pedro noticed the strip-sandals of fishermen from the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

. A year later, the first Grendene plant specifically made for shoe mold manufacturing was opened in

Carlos Barbosa Carlos Barbosa is a town in the wine country in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and w ...

. The company would go on to form partnerships with designers like

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs inc ...

and

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

. In 1984, the company started producing shoes for kids and 1986 saw the first men's shoe released. In 1990, the first Grendle shoe manufacturing plant was built in

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

, with a second one opening in 1993 in Sobral, and a third in 1997 in Crato. Grendene would start creating new brands, with the Grendha line in 1994, the Melissa line in 1996. 2002 saw the shoe take stage at Sao Paulo Fashion Week, and partner with models like

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned th ...

, along with becoming the number 1 shoe manufacturer within Brazil, by number of pairs. On October 29, 2004, Grendene began trading shares on the

Sao Paulo Stock Exchange B3 S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (in English, ''B3 - Brazil Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Market''), formerly BM&FBOVESPA, is a stock exchange located in São Paulo, Brazil, and the second oldest of the country. Its current form can be trac ...

. A new plant was open in

Teixeira de Freitas Teixeira de Freitas is a city in the extreme south of the Brazilian state of Bahia, on the margins of BR-101 highway. It is one of the largest cities in the state, with a population estimated at 162,438 inhabitants in an area of 1,166 km². ...

in 2007. Grendene partnered with

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

and

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

in 2008, as well as the launch of the Zaxy brand. More brands were created in 2009, with the launch of Cartago, the first line targeted to men. 2009 also marked the first time the company produced 150 million pairs of shoes. Today, Grendene has stores throughout the world, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. The company also partners with brands such as

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

and

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

. In 2018, Grendene sold 173 million pairs of shoes and had 11 manufacturing plants, all located in Brazil. The retail outpost's for the Grendene brand "Melissa" are known for their high concept designs by the Brazilian architect and artist Muti Randolph.

References

{{Brazil-company-stub Clothing companies of Brazil Shoe companies of Brazil Brazilian brands Shoe brands Sandals