History of the Romika!! Shoes

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1922-2008 = 76 years
In 1933, during a dramatic period of radical political changes and economical problems in Germany, the founders of the ROMIKA brand had to abandon their business which they started in 1922.
It was in 1936, when the ROMIKA trademark was transferred to Mr. Hellmuth Lemm. In the same year, on March 24th he established the new company ROMIKA GmbH.
He started production with 50 people and 6 months later ROMIKA GmbH had already 545 employees.

1940-1950
During this period the factory, which by now employed 1,000 people, was destroyed by bombing. The reconstruction started after the end of the war with just 50 workers. Initially they produced footwear soles as well as bicycle inner tubes and hot water bottles. The production of rubber boots subsequently resumed, at which point ROMIKA was the first manufacturer working with heated presses.

1950-1960
Enterprises such as ROMIKA were integral to what has now been called the German Economic Boom of the 50’s. More and more improved products were launched into the market and “Made in Germany” became synonymous with quality. The ROMIKA factories were growing alongside the demand for fashionable shoes, and by the end of the decade employed 2,600 people.

1960-1970
The sixties resulted in a wider field of expansion. ROMIKA developed new sports shoes for tennis, basketball, football, hiking and climbing resulting in new factories opening in Reinsfeld, Bitburg, Augsburg and Reus (Spain) – all practising innovative production techniques. Finishing, administration and shipping were handled at a new office building in Trier.

1970-1980
In the 70’s, more leisure activities and the introduction of new sports such as windsurfing and jogging, demanded new footwear products. ROMIKA’s surf, walking and tennis shoes became the “sporty” partner of this new leisure movement. The factory in Spain and a new factory in the French town of Barr illustrated the company’s commitment to manufacturing and sales in Europe.

1980-1990
Fitness, leisure and fashion were the three central elements within the footwear market of the 80’s to which ROMIKA responded with sporty, casual shoes. In this period, ROMIKA also developed the worldwide innovation of using a membrane technique in footwear. By this time more than 35,000 high quality pairs of shoes were being produced daily using the most advanced machinery.

1990-1996
The nineties brought changes to ROMIKA. Founder Hellmuth Lemm died in 1988 and his family retired from the business. The new owner, Rene C. Jaeggi, took over the leadership of ROMIKA.

2005
The Josef Seibel Group took over ROMIKA in 2005, at which point the company was insolvent. Seibel founded the new company - Romika Shoes GmbH. This allowed for 80 qualified staff to maintain their employment within the head office in Trier as well as 300 factory workers in the Czech Republic and the continuation of the Romika footwear brand for the future.
The Josef Seibel Group’s management lies under the leadership of Carl-August Seibel and Andreas Garnier, who oversee the management in Trier. Thanks to the solid capital resources available within the Josef Seibel Group, new ways of production and distribution are being opened up to ROMIKA.
Against the trend of moving production to the Far East, the Josef Seibel Group believes in keeping production close to home. The slogan “The European Comfort Shoe” was the result of this - 70% of production lies in Eastern Europe, 5 % in the West (including some in Germany) and 25% is produced in Asia.

Facts:
Brands: Josef Seibel, Westland, DKM, Romika
Annual Production: 5,000,000 pairs, equating to 23,500 pairs per day.
Employees: 2500 worldwide (including 320 in Germany)
Owned factories: Hauenstein, Trier (for samples), Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Distribution: Over 40 countries worldwide

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