Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A.

The values of the current company were translated by its founder Salvatore Ferragamo, who, with his life's experiences, guiding principles, creativity, and legendary success, bequeathed strong and distinctive ideals which were then carried on first by his wife, then by his children, and now with continuity in the third generation. Ferragamo emigrates to the United States and begins working for a shoe manufacturer in Boston. Ferragamo moves to California, setting up his own shop in Santa Barbara. Ferragamo moves to Hollywood and opens the Hollywood Boot Shop, becoming known as the "Shoemaker to the Stars." Ferragamo declares bankruptcy; rebuilds his business, and focuses on the Italian market. Ferragamo's daughter Fiamma joins the company and begins training under her father. The company produces its first perfume, Incanta, and opens flagship stores in New York and Tokyo. Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. has been synonymous with Italian luxury for more than three-quarters of a century. The Florence-based, family-owned company continues to produce the shoes that once earned it the nickname "Shoemaker to the Stars," but also designs, produces, and distributes a full range of men's and women's clothing and accessories. In addition, Ferragamo sells its own branded perfume lines, and, in a partnership with another Italian company, Luxottica, a range of Ferragamo-branded eyeglasses. Nevertheless, shoes remain at the heart of the Ferragamo empire, and, while the company once focused on custom-fitting such famous clients as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe (who brought fame to the company's stiletto heels), it now produces a wide range of sizes and shoe widths appealing to a broader, yet still upscale market. Women's and men's footwear represent more than 42 percent of the group's sales of nearly EUR 600 million. Ferragamo's sales are made through a global network of retailers, including most of the world's major department stores, and through the company's own network of nearly 450 retail Ferragamo stores, approximately half of which are directly owned by Ferragamo. The Asian region, especially Japan, accounts for the largest share of the company's sales at 45 percent. North America adds 31 percent to sales, while Europe accounts for 23 percent. Ferragamo also owns French design group Ungaro. Founded by Salvatore Ferragamo, the company remains headed by his widow, Wanda, and their children. Eldest son Ferruccio acts as CEO of the company, which remains 100 percent owned by the Ferragamo family. Ferragamo at first went to Boston, where one of his brothers worked at a large shoe manufacturer using industrialized shoemaking techniques--a far cry from Ferragamo's own commitment to traditional, quality craftsmanship. Ferragamo remained in Boston for nearly a decade, but at the start of the 1920s he decided to move closer to one of his other brothers, who lived in Santa Barbara, California. There, Ferragamo opened his own shoe shop, practicing traditional shoemaking techniques. Ferragamo soon went to work for the film industry as a designer and maker of boots and shoes. The quality of Ferragamo's costume shoes led actresses and actors to ask him to make them footwear for off-screen as well, and Ferragamo quickly established a reputation among people in the movie business. In order to be in closer proximity to his new clientele, Ferragamo moved his shop to Hollywood, where he opened the Hollywood Boot Shop in 1923. With customers such as Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Gloria Swanson, Ferragamo quickly earned the nickname "Shoemaker to the Stars." In the meantime, Ferragamo enrolled at Los Angeles University, where he studied human anatomy, mathematics, and chemical engineering, disciplines which he applied to the creation of his shoe styles. Indeed, much of modern footwear, and especially women's footwear, was to stem from Ferragamo's innovations. These included the open shoe and sandals for women. Over time, F