Munich (sport shoes)
Encyclopedia
Munich is a company and brand specialized in sport and fashion shoe
s. The company headquarters are located in Capellades
, province of Barcelona, Spain
. Munich produces more than 850.000 pairs of shoes per year, 46% of sports type, and 54% of fashion type. The company has reached a privileged position in the field of fashion, growing in many European and Asian countries, mainly Japan. The X symbol is what makes its shoes special and identifiable.
city of Sant Boi de Llobregat
, with the initial company name Berneda, manufacturer of shoes for rugby football
, futsal
, handball
and boxing
, among other sports.
In 1953 the brothers Javier and Francisco, second generation of the family, entered the track and field athletics market, and were the pioneers in sports shoe making in Spain. In 1964 they added the characteristic "X" symbol and changed the company and brand name from "Berneda" to "Munich". The production remained Spanish, with design and technology influences from Italy and Germany. The brand became popular and its shoes were used by soccer players such as Ladislao Kubala
and Hugo Sotil
.
In year 1999 Xavier Berneda, marketing manager of the company, and his brother David, financial manager, both of them grandsons of the company founder, convinced the father and uncle to diversify the company and enter the field of street shoes and fashion. The Asian production, specially from China, was already a fierce competitor. Thanks to this initiative, Xavier Berneda won in year 2008 the Spanish award "Young Enterpreneur". Xavier has changed the company, entering the streetwear fashion market, keeping the company design and quality standards but opening it to new markets. Around half of the production is sold to fashion victim
s ready to spend from 120 to 300 euros in a pair of sports shoes. The Munich shoes are used by well kwown people such as John Elkann
, vice-president of Fiat
, Àngel Llàcer
, Jesús Vázquez, Rafael Amargo, Boris Izaguirre
and Manuel Fuentes.
One of the most innovative activities of the company is the website Munich My Way, launched in 2009. On that site everybody is welcomed to personalize and design a pair of shoes combining many possible colors and textures, resulting in up to 333 millions of different combinations. The user can select the color of any of the main 9 parts of a shoe, including the sole, flap, heel and cords. When Munich receives the order, the factory produces those shoes, and delivers it within 2 weeks. Munich My Way also offers the possibility of buying a different size of the right shoe compared to the left one. This is specially useful for soccer and futsal
players who often require a bigger size for the shoe used to shoot.
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s. The company headquarters are located in Capellades
Capellades
Capellades is a town in Catalonia, located in the south of the comarca of Anoia, some sixty metres above the Anoia river where it cuts through the Serrelada Pre-litoral, or precoastal range, in the Capellades Gorge...
, province of Barcelona, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Munich produces more than 850.000 pairs of shoes per year, 46% of sports type, and 54% of fashion type. The company has reached a privileged position in the field of fashion, growing in many European and Asian countries, mainly Japan. The X symbol is what makes its shoes special and identifiable.
History
The company was founded by Luís Berneda in year 1939 at the CatalanCatalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
city of Sant Boi de Llobregat
Sant Boi de Llobregat
Sant Boi de Llobregat is a town of 80,000 inhabitants in the Barcelona province in Catalonia, located aside the Llobregat river.The town distributes its territory into six districts: Ciutat Cooperativa-Molí Nou, Marianao-Can Paulet, Barri Centre, Vinyets-Molí Vell, Camps Blancs-Canons-Orioles and...
, with the initial company name Berneda, manufacturer of shoes for rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, among other sports.
In 1953 the brothers Javier and Francisco, second generation of the family, entered the track and field athletics market, and were the pioneers in sports shoe making in Spain. In 1964 they added the characteristic "X" symbol and changed the company and brand name from "Berneda" to "Munich". The production remained Spanish, with design and technology influences from Italy and Germany. The brand became popular and its shoes were used by soccer players such as Ladislao Kubala
Ladislao Kubala
László Kubala Stecz , also referred to as Ladislav Kubala, Ladislao Kubala, was a footballer, who played as a forward with, among others, Ferencvárosi TC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Vasas SC, FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. He also played for three different national teams, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and...
and Hugo Sotil
Hugo Sotil
Hugo Alejandro Sotil Yerén is a Peruvian former professional football player. Nicknamed El Cholo, he played as a striker or midfielder. Together with Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz, he was one of Peru's most recognized football players of the 1970s...
.
In year 1999 Xavier Berneda, marketing manager of the company, and his brother David, financial manager, both of them grandsons of the company founder, convinced the father and uncle to diversify the company and enter the field of street shoes and fashion. The Asian production, specially from China, was already a fierce competitor. Thanks to this initiative, Xavier Berneda won in year 2008 the Spanish award "Young Enterpreneur". Xavier has changed the company, entering the streetwear fashion market, keeping the company design and quality standards but opening it to new markets. Around half of the production is sold to fashion victim
Fashion victim
Fashion victim is a term claimed to have been coined by Oscar de la Renta that is used to identify a person who is unable to identify commonly recognized boundaries of style....
s ready to spend from 120 to 300 euros in a pair of sports shoes. The Munich shoes are used by well kwown people such as John Elkann
John Elkann
John Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
, vice-president of Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
, Àngel Llàcer
Àngel Llàcer
Àngel Llàcer is a Catalan actor, television presenter and drama teacher.He attended the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona , and completed his education in San Miniato and Berlin...
, Jesús Vázquez, Rafael Amargo, Boris Izaguirre
Boris Izaguirre
Boris Rodolfo Izaguirre Lobo is a Venezuelan-Spanish screenwriter, journalist, writer and showman.Izaguirre wrote the scripts of some of the Venezuelan telenovelas: Rubí and La dama de Rosa. After their success in Spain, he went to live in Santiago de Compostela.In Spain, Izaguirre started to...
and Manuel Fuentes.
One of the most innovative activities of the company is the website Munich My Way, launched in 2009. On that site everybody is welcomed to personalize and design a pair of shoes combining many possible colors and textures, resulting in up to 333 millions of different combinations. The user can select the color of any of the main 9 parts of a shoe, including the sole, flap, heel and cords. When Munich receives the order, the factory produces those shoes, and delivers it within 2 weeks. Munich My Way also offers the possibility of buying a different size of the right shoe compared to the left one. This is specially useful for soccer and futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
players who often require a bigger size for the shoe used to shoot.