Geox boss: 'Nobody believed in me'

Release time：2014-02-12
Browse：4952

When he was a baby, his mother has told him, his father wetted his lips with wine and declared that he was the one who was going to run the family's winery in north east Italy.

And although he did indeed join the firm, he didn't stay there - and it's all because of a business trip to the US. cn domain

After attending a wine conference in Reno, Mr Polegato decided to take a holiday in the Nevada desert. cn domain

While he was there, he went for a walk and found his feet became so hot and uncomfortable that he took out his Swiss army knife and cut holes into his trainers.

Immediately, he felt better, and decided that the way shoes were made needed to be re-invented. And he was the man to do it.

"I wanted shoes to be breathable and waterproof at the same time," says the 62 year old.

"I spent three years researching my patent, and I offered it to all the big shoe companies, but nobody believed in me. cn domain

Slow starter
With established shoe-makers turning him down, 17 years ago, aged 45, and armed with a bank loan, Mr Polegato founded his own footwear business - Geox.

It has made him a billionaire.

To begin with he hired five young people from his home village of Biadene di Montebelluna, none of whom he knew, and none of whom had worked before, let alone had any experience of how to run a business.

Today Geox is a global company with 30,000 employees (including the original five), and 1,300 stores all over the world.

After originally keeping its focus on shoes, it has subsequently expanded into clothes.

It listed on the Milan stock exchange 10 years ago, with 29% of shares sold. The remaining 71% are held by Mr Polegato. cn domain

But despite the spectacular subsequent growth of the business, Mr Polegato says that he started Geox very slowly, running it "almost like a hobby" while still working in the family wine business to keep a salary coming in.

What he did wrong, he says, was spend three years trying and failing to sell his patents. He wishes instead that he had started Geox earlier.

What he did right, Mr Polegato thinks, is to apply for a patent in 100 countries straight away. cn domain

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