Calzaturificio Roveda

One of the gems of the Italian footwear industry

Italian know-how in shoe manufacturing is universally recognized. Roveda, one of the gems of the industry, was acquired in 2000 by Chanel. Located a few dozen kilometers from Milan, in the shoe district of Parabiago, today  Roveda is one of the country’s most important companies in this area.

Over the years, Roveda has acquired multiple skills which enable the company to create shoes, for different customers, that require often radically different techniques: moccasins, pumps, ballet flats, platform sandals and boots.

Roveda has grown from an artisan business to a craft industry: it is organized to respond effectively to the dreams and needs of its customers, it has invested in technological equipment in its aim to continuously be at the forefront of innovation. The real strength of Roveda is its craftsmen and the amazing work they do with their unique savoir-faire.

History

Situated only a few kilometres from Milan, the Capital of Italian Fashion, Roveda develops more than 1000 different footwear models per year of Italian, French, American and British brands. Since 1955, following his father’s footsteps, Giovanni Roveda and his wife, in a tiny workshop and with few employees, gave birth to Roveda’s brand. Very fast , the brand spread in shop windows of Milan and Paris. At the end of the Sixties, Roveda started to work with High Fashion brands like Lanvin, Roger Vivier, Chloè, Emmanuel Khanh, Christian Lacroix, Valentino, Gucci and finally in the Eighties with Chanel (who purchased the company in the year 2000).

Roveda is today one of the gems of the Italian footwear industry with more than 380 people employed. 50 of these are dedicated to the development of the product, and a reliable net of 30 well-established partners.

What we do

We support designers and their projects, from research of materials and components to prototype production.

Our ability to interpret the dreams of designers to translate their ideas, drawings, emotions into physical objects: productive, qualitative and profitable, always faithful to the Creation, always respectful of the brand, always with the aim of satisfying the customer.

We express ourselves through a wide range of footwear: pumps, sandals, ankle boots, boots, moccasins, sneakers, espadrilles.

We produce for both the most prestigious and well-established luxury brands while still being on the look out for emerging brands, in order to carry on experimenting fashion and tomorrow’s trends together.

Innovation

For more than 60 years, Roveda has grown and has transformed itself from a handcraft company into “an industrial scale lab with crafts know-how”. It organized itself to comply with dreams and needs of our clients in a more efficient way, by acquiring technologically advanced equipment.

We are one of the first shoe factories in Italy to invest in collaborative robotics. We installed a new automated production line and a sole gluing hub (water based glue). The aim of these investments is to provide to our employees a safer working environment and the most innovative equipment.

Moreover, we organized ad hoc training for our employees for the use of these advanced technologies.

Sustainability

We want to embody the vision of a responsible employer focusing on different topics (environmental, social and local communities).
As part of our continuous improvement commitment, we are certified SA8000, ISO14001, Living Wage and WHP.

We are deeply invested in the welfare of our employees. We express that engagement with internal analysis, as satisfaction surveys and social responsibility report, and through activities such as company challenges and workshops that encourage a healthy lifestyle.

We are researching, developing and using more virtuous materials to transform our products while always respecting the designers intentions and without compromising quality.

Moreover, we are working towards making our production processes more sustainable through various initiatives like the partnership with the University of Cambridge. During this project we effectively managed to reduce the company’s waste generated per pair of shoe by promoting reuse and consumption optimization actions throughout the factory. Furthermore, we improved our energy efficiency by spreading awareness on electricity usage and by implementing automatic energy saving systems.

We keep track of the carbon foot print of our initiatives impact through analysis of the product, of the process and of the company overall.

Website: https://www.roveda1955.com/