A youthful, modern, forward-facing industry that unites the best in craft, tradition, cutting-edge technology and know-how, with a heightened sense of design and creativity.
Meet the most relevant Portuguese men’s brands.
Algori
Born and raised in the northern region of Portugal, Algori was founded by two young Portuguese raised into a family of shoemakers with more than 50 years of experience. But years of research, combined with the discovery of the best quality raw materials, brought the desire to give a new approach to the traditional Portuguese footwear sector.
Algori strives to source locally and responsibly to have a positive impact on the community. It follows a strict ethical code, ensuring that the raw materials used in its products have the lowest possible impact on the environment and that the people who work with the brand are treated fairly.
Driven by retro urban and sporty vibes, the brand focuses on building a lifestyle brand that offers timeless shoes that evoke effortless style with layered cultural significance. Each design is unique and has an authentic soul. Combining a passion for the Mediterranean essence with the nineties-looking and vintage style, Algori’s goal is to design high-quality sneakers that can dress and complete the look of the community - timelessness through high standards in limited quantities.
Attitude is at the core of Ambitious and defines the brand’s approach to life’s challenges. Ambitious footwear is designed for those who face life head-on and are not afraid to stand out. Be it in business environments, a day off with friends, or a walk in the city park, the brand’s footwear adapts to everyone’s everyday life. #BeAmbitious
As part of an industrial group with 30 years of experience in the shoemaking industry, Ambitious has its production facilities in the city of Guimarães, Portugal. This competitive advantage not only allows for greater flexibility in developing and experimenting with new designs but also ensures greater control over the entire production process, ensuring that each pair meets the highest quality standards.
Established in 1942, Carlos Santos is based in the North of Portugal and has a long experience innovating products for men. Even today, Carlos Santos is one of the few Portuguese companies to apply the Goodyear Welted system, a manual technique in which machines play a secondary role.
Named after its mentor, Carlos Santos, it’s a 100% Portuguese brand, which year after year reasserts the quality of its products on an international level.
Having taken its first step towards internationalisation 35 years ago, the brand is present in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, and the USA, and is preparing now to enter the Middle East. Recently, the brand has also taken a special interest in the female market by investing in new and more feminine products. This development, supported by customers’ demands, demonstrates the customers’ confidence and loyalty achieved throughout years of collaboration.
The story begins in 1941 when Camilo Ferreira had the idea to run a shoe factory despite WWII. Camilo was so obsessed with making great shoes that he would ride his bicycle up the hill for several kilometres, every single day, for more than 15 years to join his small team in the factory. For more than 45 years, Centenário manufacturing was totally handmade.
"We build our generations on knowledge, technic and experience, our work is love made visible. We work every day to be better, and even if only by little, bring more joy to people that own Centenário Shoes”.
By 1984, Centenário expanded its infrastructure and upgraded to modern equipment and logistics, exporting 50% of its production to the European market. In 2009 Centenário Goodyear Welted expertise became also part of the Golf Signature footwear and by 2013 the company was already exporting 90% of its production to the European market.
It all began in 1945, the year in which Manuel de Almeida Jorge, master craftsman in footwear, started producing Mariano quality shoes in the small village of São João da Madeira, the heart of traditional Portuguese footwear. His creations would soon earn renown across the country, both for the quality of the craftsmanship and their contemporary design.
More than 70 years have passed since Manuel started out, and his original workshop has grown apace with the growth of the brand. Still working from the original site at Street Jaime Afreixo, Mariano now produces footwear which reaches discerning customers around the world.
Manuel’s family, now in their 4th generation, keeps his artisan spirit alive by staying true to his commitment to producing high-quality, handcrafted footwear. From conception to design and beyond, skilled and gifted hands transform dreams into masterpieces, one pair at a time. From cut to shine, the brand’s shoes are entirely handmade. Each pair of Mariano shoes tells a personal story.
The story of Cruz de Pedra paints a portrait of a company that fully appreciates the value of tradition.
Over 75 years of knowledge in the hands of the company’s shoemakers are passed through each pair crafted. The Portuguese heritage of shoemaking remains true to its foundations, possessing a cunning sense of the present but also an unshakable challenge to create a new and disruptive future. Honouring the cobbler and the craft, Cruz da Pedra believes in taking time to create products that are as individual as those men who will wear them. It’s all about the details and profound attention to rich materials.
When in the course of the 70s, Joaquim Luis Lobo Felix started out in the industry of footwear, he could not have imagined that he would be laying the foundations of a company that, 40 years later, occupies a prominent place in the Portuguese industry of footwear.
With centralised management in the family, Hugo Manuel has sustained its growth through constant adaptation to the market, constant evaluation of the changes in the environment and the implementation of a rigorous financial policy. The sound economic and financial situation of Hugo Manuel is reflected, in part, in the investment in high-tech machines, about to serve any order. The quality of service, based on delivery time and the proper selection of raw materials, is ensured this way.
Preserving the environment is a priority for Hugo Manuel, which complies with all international environmental standards in its manufacturing process. It also meets all international standards in the protection of people. The cabinet modelling and development department, equipped with the latest technology, works to bring more and more of Hugo Manuel products to market requirements. With a wide range of models, colours and sizes regarding male footwear, sports and technical, Hugo Manuel is prepared to offer the best quality. Regardless of the line - formal or sporty, modern or classic, Hugo Manuel follows fashion trends and develops collections that meet the expectations of its customers. The brand also has a line of unique accessories and products for the care of the foot.
Over the years, MIGUEL VIERA has become a flagship brand in the Portuguese fashion industry with a style that reflects elegance, charm, and glamour. Collection after collection, the predominance of black and white became one of Miguel Vieira’s most significant references.
The modern classic cuts are based on a choice of raw materials, which are carefully selected by a team of experts within his studio. The Miguel Vieira man and woman are professionally successful, elegant, and like to travel but, at the same time, are always focused on their haven. The core of friends around them immensely appreciate being "well-dressed with elegance” and, altogether, form a clan that surprises everyone when they arrive somewhere. They are always aware of the latest proposals of the leading brands of international designers, which is also a code of conversation between them.
The Miguel Vieira man and woman also finds the details and quality of materials very important. During the day, they wear casual pieces based on a modern classic but keep their chic side in the most delicate moments. They visit the world’s most cosmopolitan destinations and go to the best restaurants, hotels, and bars, dominated by luxury and design. They are "strong,” independent, and, above all, successful.
Currently, the Miguel Vieira universe consists of garments, junior garments, shoes, jewellery, bags, accessories, furniture, and eyewear. MIGUEL VIEIRA regularly presents his collections at Portugal Fashion, New York Fashion Week, and Milan Fashion Week.
Fábrica de Calçado Mata was founded in 1988 and specialises in high-quality men’s footwear, producing now around 700 pairs per day, with the help of 80 collaborators.
The "savoir-faire” of the company is based on the many years of experience acquired by its entrepreneurs, who offer a global service of quality, starting with the conception and development of the product, in constant and systematic contact with customers and suppliers to create a collection in line with the trends of each season and conformity with the realistic commercial market of its customers, without forgetting the most important factor: the best quality for value.
Penha has been producing top-quality Goodyear Welted men’s shoes since 1967. Handcrafted using the finest European leathers and the finest leather for the soles, which are insulated with natural cork.
The company’s modern facilities, with 2,700 square meters, are located in the historic city of Guimarães in the North of Portugal, where 130 highly qualified people proudly produce 550 pairs of luxury shoes per day, with respect and total commitment to the best environment and social practices.
Profession Bottier
A Portuguese brand born within a footwear group with more than 60 years of experience manufacturing high-quality footwear. By the end of the forties, brothers Manuel and António Ferreira Avelar opened a small company dedicated to manufacturing loafers. Each shoe reflects the nobility of the hands that made it, down to the last detail.
Their love for the art of producing shoes and the know-how they have accumulated over the years allowed the development of the company Ferreira Avelar & Filho. In 1987, Jacques Mirault, a French stylist, recognised the quality and excellence of the manufacturing process and resulting products and helped the company in its approach to the French market. In a few years, the company started to sell products to several international clients located in numerous markets. In 1994, with the third generation of the family already active in the business, own brand Profession Bottier was born. A men’s brand dedicated to the medium-high-end segment and based on quality and perfection.
With more than 100 employees working in their facilities in São João da Madeira, one of the most important geographic areas for footwear production in Portugal, the group currently exports to nearly 25 markets. While Europe is seen as the group’s domestic market, there is a will to continue a development strategy to reach new markets.
Sanjo made its return in September 2019 with a new attitude: the brand intends to work on the duality of the old and the new, bringing the classics back to today. Sanjo’s sneakers are 100% produced in Portugal, with a focus on quality, comfort and exclusivity, creating unique products and spreading a DNA that it has been carried for over 85 years.
Sanjo delivers more than just sneakers: it delivers a legacy that the brand wants everyone to be part of, ending up making it the Portuguese brand of sneakers, intentionally spread. Sanjo wants to create a community, something that people want to be part of and bring a unique and original Portuguese design back to us today, from Portugal to the world, with quality, comfort and 100% made in Portugal.
Born in 1954, The Cobbler started his shoe-making history through the influence of his father, working at his factory, by the age of 10.
In 1967, The Cobbler started officially his first working contract and, throughout the years, he learned all production processes, particularly the handmade finishings that make the difference in the brand’s products until today.
In the early 80s, The Cobbler bought his father’s factory and in the consequent 30 years, he has consistently increased the company’s numbers as he started to show their know-how to several countries and brands all around the globe.
In 2018, with more than 10 years of experience in the shoe industry as a sales and brand manager, The cobbler son sent a challenge to his sister and they created Officina Sixty Seven, a high-quality men’s shoes factory that produces shoes with heritage handmade finishings for some of the best show brands, and most particularly for their own brand, created to honour their father: SONS OF A COBBLER, SOC!