From shoemaking to importing 18,000 pairs a year, comfort remains one of the most important considerations when it comes to choosing footwear, the Zammit La Rosa brothers tell Natalie Bowen.
Working on your feet is a tiring business and an ill-fitting pair of shoes can make your day a misery.
But Sandro and Renato Zammit La Rosa know a lot about comfortable footwear.
The brothers inherited the running of King Shoe Shops from their father, Carmelo, and their family firm Zammit La Rosa Footwear has been operating on the island since 1956.
Yet one particular brand has cemented their success: Ecco, the Danish firm that bases its shoemaking philosophy on the idea that shoes should fit around the feet, not the other way around.
“It’s the only shoe that you will try on in the shop and walk out with it, because it is more comfortable than the one that you’ve carved around your feet,” says younger brother Renato, 55.
The figures back up their claims: from starting with just 50 pairs of Ecco shoes in 1994, the firm now imports 15,000 to 18,000 pairs per year, despite the fact they sell for up to €200.
“In 1994, we started working on the prices that we have to pay to sell,” says Renato.
“Dad nearly had a heart attack – he was still alive back then. He said: ‘Who the hell are you going to sell these shoes to?’
“The going price of a very good shoe at that time was around Lm19 to Lm22, but we were the first people to hike up the cost. Ours had to retail at around Lm35 to Lm40. That was a lot of money back then.”
But taking a gamble worked out and King Shoe Shops are now sole agents for an impressive collection of global brands: Spanish labels Pikolinos and Desigual join German brands Ara and Tamaris on the shelves.
“It took us about six to seven years to get this combination right because we started importing Shellys, which was one of the top British shoe fashion houses in the UK,” says 63-year-old Sandro. “We had quite a few that were good hits on the island; in fact, this is how people started getting to know us.”
One of the reasons Kings is so knowledgeable is that the firm used to manufacture footwear itself.
“We were a private manufacturing concern in Malta, with 80 people working for us. Then there was a change of government, change of policies, and importation began,” says Renato.
With every pair we sell, it’s like we’re selling a baby. It’s a part of us and I think that’s part of our success
Opening up the island to mass importation under the Nationalists after years of a Labour-imposed ban meant manufacturing their own shoes was no longer competitive.
“Since we don’t have any raw materials in Malta we have to import everything to just make one pair of shoes,” he explains.
“When we started importing, we found that the cost of merely importing the raw materials was the same as buying a ready-made shoe from abroad. And we still had to load on all the labour costs and profits, so we would have been cut out of the market.”
Malta’s relatively small population is a challenge, particularly with the high costs of their products, so the brothers have instilled a strong appreciation of customer care into their workers.
Carefully chosen staff must share the firm’s love for quality: one store keeper has been with them for 50 years; and both men’s daughters have followed them into the family firm.
“What’s important with these brands is that you have to believe in them; you have to trust that they are the top brand,” explains Sandro.
Renato adds: “With every pair we sell, it’s like we’re selling a baby. It’s a part of us and I think that’s part of our success, because we’re taking care of it so much that we’re taking care of the buyers.
“For example, a lawyer might be running around all day in an Ecco pair of shoes. We tell him to buy an extra pair of insoles because, if you change the insole at 1pm, it’s a completely new pair of shoes.
“The insoles are special and absorb the sweat so your feet don’t get wet. Obviously, if you change the insoles, it’s a new pair. It’s amazing how it works.”
Although Sandro stresses that Ecco is not a medical brand that is designed to improve posture or address certain ailments, Renato says comfort is one of the most important considerations.
“We actually tell people: if it doesn’t fit you right, don’t buy it! We don’t tell them it’s going widen or it’s going to be this or that; we just tell them not to buy it. We are not here to make a quick buck.
“We have to respect our clients more than we respect ourselves really because they keep you going. From 50 pairs to 18,000 pairs, it’s a hell of a long way.”