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Italian shoemaker Geox bids farewell to Belle, to accelerate China expansion

Geox, Italy’s largest men’s shoemaker and the world’s second largest casual footwear brand, is accelerating its expansion in China after ending a five-year partnership with China’s number one shoe retailer Belle.

The Italian shoemaker plans to speed new store opening and bring the total number of its stores in China from the current 75 to 160 by the end of this year which means it will open five stores each week, Mario Moretti Polegato, Chairman and founder of Geox, said on 30 August in an interview with Dongfang Daily in Shanghai.

Geox entered the Chinese market in 2003 by forging a partnership with Zhejiang-based footwear manufacturer Aokang. Aokang was responsible for distributing Geox’s products in the country. When their agreement expired in 2008, Geox choose Belle as its new distributor. In a surprise move, however, Geox changed its Chinese distributor again last year by announcing its partnership with Riqing Enterprise.

Commenting on the changes of its distributors, Polegato said those were the moves the company had to make in order to adhere to its development strategy at different stages.

Aside from changing distributors, Geox has set up a direct-operated company, being responsible for opening direct-operated stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjing. So far, Geox has 36 direct-operated stores in China and it plans to open a flagship store in Tmall.com, the business-to-consumer platform within China’s largest online retailer Taobao.

Speaking about the new distributor, Polegato said Riqing Enterprise has rich experience in high-end consumer products’ sales which will improve GEOX’s brand image.

The shoemaker identified the rising middle class in the country as its target consumers. "Although Chinese economic growth is slowing down and some luxury brands have seen drop in sales, the sales growth of GEOX in China is much higher than the European markets," noted Polegato. "We are not luxury," he added.