Grendene is a Brazilian company that is the world's largest manufacturer ofsandals. It was founded byAlexandre Grendene Bartelle and his twin brother Pedro Grendene Bartelle.^[1]

Grendene

Company type	Sociedade Anônima
Traded as	B3: GRND3
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1971; 54 years ago (1971)
Founders	Alexandre Grendene Bartelle Pedro Grendene Bartelle
Headquarters	Sobral, Ceará , Brazil
Key people	Rudimar Dall'Onder (CEO)
Products	Sandals
Brands	Melissa Grendha Zaxy Rider Cartago Ipanema Pega Forte Grendene Kids Zizou
Number of employees	20,000 (2018)
Website	grendene.com.br

In 1971, the Bartelle brothers, Alexandre and Pedro, began to create plastic basket holders for wine that was produced in the mountains ofRio Grande do Sul. 5 years later, the company began producing plastic parts for farm machinery, eventually evolving to producing soles and heels for shoes. In 1979, Grendene produced their first sandal, the Melissa Aranha, after Pedro noticed the strip-sandals of fishermen from theFrench Riviera. A year later, the first Grendene plant specifically made for shoe mold manufacturing was opened inCarlos Barbosa. The company would go on to form partnerships with designers likeJean-Paul Gaultier andThierry Mugler. In 1984, the company started producing shoes for kids and 1986 saw the first men's shoe released. In 1990, the first Grendle shoe manufacturing plant was built inFortaleza, with a second one opening in 1993 inSobral, and a third in 1997 inCrato. Grendene would start creating new brands, with the Grendha line in 1994, the Melissa line in 1996. 2002 saw the shoe take stage atSao Paulo Fashion Week, and partner with models likeGisele Bündchen, along with becoming the number 1 shoe manufacturer within Brazil, by number of pairs. On October 29, 2004, Grendene began trading shares on theSao Paulo Stock Exchange. A new plant was open inTeixeira de Freitas in 2007. Grendene partnered withVivienne Westwood andZaha Hadid in 2008, as well as the launch of the Zaxy brand. More brands were created in 2009, with the launch of Cartago, the first line targeted to men. 2009 also marked the first time the company produced 150 million pairs of shoes. Today, Grendene has stores throughout the world, inLondon,New York City,Rio de Janeiro, andMilan. The company also partners with brands such asMattel andCartoon Network.^[2] In 2018, Grendene sold 173 million pairs of shoes and had 11 manufacturing plants, all located in Brazil.^[3]

The retail outpost's for the Grendene brand "Melissa" are known for their high concept designs by the Brazilian architect and artistMuti Randolph.^[4]