Pantofola d’Oro bets on the USA

From the opening in New York to the agreement with the Venice Beach football club, the historic football boot brand Pantofola D’Oro bets on the United States. The brand has entered the second floor of the P448 retail store at 663 5th Avenue with a space of approximately 200 m2. On the west coast, however, the collaboration with the Californian team begins which includes a dedicated football shoe, a sneaker and a complement of clothing. The agreement with the club also includes the opening of a 200 m2 pop-up which will remain active for at least six months in Venice Beach.

The new entries from the collection presented at Pitti will also be sold in America: “20 leisure shirts inspired by football and dedicated to Italian cities. Each drop includes 5 models. They will also be available on e-commerce”, explains the CEO and partner of Pantofola D’Oro, Kim Williams, to FashionNetwork.com.

The Welsh manager, a great football fan, took over Pantofola D’Oro in 2000 from the old ownership which had fallen into financial difficulties. The operation was finalized together with a partner, who then left in 2006 to make room for a local entrepreneur with a ‘habit’ of football.

Born at the end of the nineteenth century in Ascoli Piceno as a family workshop, Pantofola D’Oro has dressed many football stars in its history, such as Di Stefano and Riva. Then the change of direction, with the sneaker business taking over. “Before the pandemic, free time generated 95% of turnover. Post-covid the football trend is back. We sell to top players around the world, from America to Thailand via Japan,” continues Williams.

Pantofola d’Oro closed 2023 with 6 million euros in direct turnover, which rises to 15 million considering the sneaker licenses active in Northern Europe. “The goal is to reach 10 million direct by 2025. Japan and Korea are our reference markets. After Covid they started running again,” says the CEO.

Pantofola d’Oro is also planning to open a ‘museum’ space in the city of Ascoli to give the right emphasis to its most important archive pieces. Meanwhile, the stages of his story have been retraced in a book homage to his first century of life published in 1986.

At Pitti Uomo, the brand brings a modern version with different materials and colors of an old soccer shoe from ’74. “We work a lot on the archive. Today the market is very inspired by football. We have a great advantage,” observes Williams. Also making its debut is the Legend model in canvas and leather which fits into the core tennis trend, fueled by the latest successes of the Italian Jannik Sinner, newly promoted number one in the world. Finally, to complete the collection, a moccasin for the after-match.