The idea behind these shoes: Cool, not cooked, feet and no more smelly feet and shoes, that was Mario Moretti Polegato's first step in the right direction, but clearly not a long-term solution as a sudden rainstorm and puddles soon proved to him.

He remembered that NASA's footwear and clothing were made of a special material with millions of holes, too small to let in water but big enough let perspiration out. Polegato traveled to Houston to find out more and soon afterwards invented a similar membrane to fit between his shoe's sole and his foot. This membrane stops water from entering his shoes through the holes, but allows the vapor from perspiration to evaporate.

Next he patented his airholes and magical membrane in 100 countries. Because he was a wine producer in his heart, Polegato first tried to sell the patent to some of the big names in leisure footwear manufacturing: Reebok, Fila, Nike, Adidas, Diadora, Puma, and Timberland.

But they all turned him down, so he decided to leave his younger brother, Giancarlo, in charge of the family's wine businesses and started out himself to build up a manufacturing facility.

In 1995 Mario Moretti Polegato recruited five people to help him develop his dream shoe "that breathes." He named the company GEOX for the Greek word geos meaning the earth, and ox for oxygen or x for technology.

GEOX now employs 3,500 people directly and an additional 3,000 indirectly through subcontractors. Research (simulated 200-kilometer walks and water injections in heated shoes to simulate perspiration) and design take place at headquarters in Montebelluna; but, because of lower wages there, production is in China, Mexico, Slovakia near Bratislava (with about 700 emplyees) and Romania, where the GEOX factory at Timisoara employs 1,450.

Following GEOX's success in Romania, more than 10'000 other Italian entrepreneurs have invested there and in 1997 Polegato was named Romania's honorary consul for northeastern Italy.

Marketing: In 2002 GEOX began selling its shoes through Nordstrom (70 outlets) and Dillers (17 outlets) in the USA. The company adapts the shoes' materials, designs and cost to the country where the footwear will be sold. For example, the same GEOX model costs 10% less in Mexico, 5% less in Spain, 15% more in Germany, and 20% more in the US than in Italy. In Germany, GEOX offers darker colors and thicker leather than Italy's brighter tones and more elegant materials.

For diversification, in 2002 GEOX developed a patent for breathable clothing based on perforations on two special strips in the shoulder area, which is where body heat and humidity collect. Clothing accounted for 5% of the company's sales in 2003.

In 2003, Italy's leading manufacturer of casual comfort footwear and the eighth worldwide, Polegato was awarded "Best Italian Entrepreneur in the World" by Ernst & Young Global - a recognition of which he is particularly proud.

Teh company grows at about 33% per year, with the turnover in 2001 being 147 Mio. Euros, reaching 612 Mio. Euro turnover in 2006. - The consumers like Geox shoes!