Relaxshoe combines the need for comfort with the desire for style. Through quality shoes, able to win over the customer’s loyalty.
Available in the lines Relaxshoe, Easy’n Rose and Galmond, the women’s footwear models developed thanks to the entrepreneurial skills of Gianfranco Modenese are synonymous with a well-established know-how, passion and steadfast commitment. At Micam, the owner of the Veneto-based firm, together with his sons Giuseppe and Paolo, told us the story of a company that aims at fostering people’s wellbeing through comfortable, yet fashionable shoes, whose casual and sporty style has been constantly evolving in terms of materials and shapes.
Gianfranco Modenese at the Relaxshoe stand during the latest edition of Micam
Gianfranco Modenese, can you tell us more about the Relaxshoe’s roots and its current structure? Relaxshoe is a family-run business, that I am currently managing together with two children of mine. Its roots date back to the late ‘60s when I established in Verona the company Modenese Creazioni Luca Shoe for the distribution abroad of comfortable shoes manufactured in Italy. Precision and reliability play a key role when it comes to the relationship with the clientele: soon enough, I realized that, in order to deal with the suppliers’ inefficiency and delays, I would have to establish my own factory where to produce according to my experience and to manage directly quality control operations as well as delivery times. In 1984, I seized the chance to take over Relaxshoe, some time after I paid off its partners and started my new career as an entrepreneur. Currently, the shoe factory features headquarters based in San Giovanni Ilarione, Verona province, that houses the management offices, the style department, pattern-making and design workshops, quality control activities and raw materials warehouses, the sales area and the showroom, counting approximately fifty employees. On the other hand, the production, that relies on Italian materials and know-how, has been outsourced in Bosnia since 2004, with a state-of-the-art plant where there are 650 workers, a figure that rises up to 1,300 people considering the satellite activities, not to mention the contractors proceeding from other countries.
The new Relaxshoe and Easy’n Rose collection for the 2020-2021 Fall/Winter season on display last February at Micam
Where does Relaxshoe’s spirit lies? And what about the style of its creations? Our shoes are comfortable, yet fashionable, they give a stylish touch to comfort. The brands Relaxshoe and Easy’n Rose provide women with casual, sporty models that favour the foot’s health and wellbeing, with a glamorous streak. Italian taste and elegance, craft processing techniques, careful selection of materials and hides, in-depth analysis of the foot’s anatomy in order to adjust the fit: each creation is designed to guarantee lightness and softness while walking, with a keen eye for trend-setting elements. Besides the Relaxshoe and Easy’n Rose lines, there is also the brand Galmond, specialized in the manufacturing, through injection moulding technology, of rubber and après-ski boots, a sector kicked off in 1985 and in which I have always believed and invested in terms of innovation and creativity. In our factory located in Bosnia, more than 30 thousand pairs are produced daily, meeting mainly the demands of the private labels, in addition to five/six thousand pairs of leather shoes.
What are your main export markets? As far as Europe is concerned, we sell basically everywhere, mainly in Scandinavia, England, Germany, France, Spain. We export to Australia and New Zealand as well. Italy, on the other hand, accounts for a 35-40% market share.
The market is on the lookout for increasingly eco-friendly products: sustainability-wise, what is your stance? The attention to the environment is required by the customers, as they place orders only if the products used and the workspaces are fully compliant with the regulations concerning the safeguard of the consumer as well as of the employees. The customer wants to purchase a safe article: the Relaxshoe and Easy’n Rose shoes feature only uppers, linings and insoles made with genuine leather, we rely on qualified and certified suppliers, our packaging solutions employ paper and cardboard proceeding from separate waste collection. We have invested in photovoltaic systems in order to turn the Verona-based company into an energy self-sufficient facility and we are waiting for the Bosnian authorities’ authorization so as to equip the factories located in Derventa with energy production plants powered by renewable sources. www.relaxshoe.it – Online Shop