Geox's "Raptor" A comfortable, pricey shoe with an edge

Geox ranks as the Number 1 Retailer in Italy for casual footwear and Number 3 in the world.

The company was founded in 1995 by Mario Moretti Polegato. The brand name, Geox, was created from a mixture between the Greek word "geo" (earth, on which we all walk), and "x", a letter-element symbolizing technology.

Polegato was born in 1952  near Treviso. Originally groomed to take over the family wine-making business, company promotional material has it the idea for the shoe came when he participated in a wine industry conference in Reno; while out jogging in Reno's hot desert climate, his feet got hot from the exertion and he had the idea to cut a couple of holes in the soles of his shoes with a Swiss Army knife.

He developed the idea into a viable product with the help of a small leather-goods business his family owned.

After unsuccessfully pitching his invention to several established footwear manufacturers, but after having passed the market testing phase for a line of children's footwear, Mario Moretti Polegato began large-scale production of shoes under the Geox brand name. That same year, he improved the original patent and extended the product range to men's and women's footwear.