“La Martina Is Like First Love”

GIANO “LA MARTINA IS LIKE FIRST LOVE”

Enrico Paniccià is the owner and CEO of Giano, a company that has been producing shoes in the Marche region of Italy since 1946. His entrepreneurial talent has transformed a small shoe factory into one of the most important manufacturers and distributors in the region, which is, among other things, the exclusive licensee of La Martina Shoes. We sat down for a chat about tradition and evolution.

Interview: Janaina Engelmann-Brothànek. Photos: Giano

Enrico, much has happened since you joined the Giano family business in 2000…

Enrico Paniccià, owner and CEO of Giano: The company was founded in 1946 by my grandfather Umberto Intorbida in Torre San Patrizio as a small shoe workshop in which the workers of the large shoe factories supported my grandparents after their regular shifts. In the 1970s, my father joined the business and established Giano as a medium-sized company with up to 15 employees at the time. I often accompanied my father to customer deliveries and knew from a young age that I too wanted to work here one day. To cut a long story short, I became part of Giano in 2000 as a recent university graduate and quickly realised that we had to change our business model if we wanted to be more successful. This is how the licensing concept and our first collaboration with La Martina came about.

La Martina and Giano have been doing business together for 15 years. What is the secret to this collaboration’s success?

To Giano, La Martina is like the first love. I contacted Lando Simonetti at the time to tell him about my idea. We were experts in shoe production, but we had never produced shoes as licensees. Lando was bold enough to believe in me and Giano. It has been a very fruitful and successful collaboration ever since. We manufacture 50,000 per year and are listed in more than 300 stores worldwide. I truly believe that we owe our success to our open and fair partnership.

What are the plans for the future?

We would like to establish an even stronger presence in our main markets. Germany, for example, is one of our most important regions and we have drawn up very ambitious plans with Ben and for the coming seasons. We adore Germany as a very grateful and loyal market, which is why we are investing in local marketing and services. Furthermore, we are working hard on the expansion of our other two brands: Harmont & Blaine (also a licence partner) and Woolrich (joint venture partner).

The shoe of the future – what will it look like?

It needs to be authentic and well-crafted. People demand quality now. Naturally, it needs to be produced sustainably and fairly, which is why Giano is investing heavily in this area, and we are delighted to have gained ACBC as a partner. The B-CORP start-up from Milan produces all its “Made in Italy” models through us.

“The shoe of the future needs to be authentic and well-crafted. Naturally, it needs to be produced sustainably and fairly,” argues Enrico Paniccià.