Historia

We propose a journey.
A trip down memory lane.

"He was a happy and restless child. So restless that a week before the end of school he would pluck up his courage and run away from school, running immediately to see if his grandmother, a woman he had a special love for, had come home from mass. His hands were always full of dirt, his shoes well shined and his pockets full of junk that jingled at every run, probably eyelets from the factory where he worked with his father, which he forgot to take out of his pockets every time he came home".

That boy's name was José Paredes, and this is his story, the story of Paredes.

The road did not start in a garage
but in a small courtyard.

Paredes' story begins in the courtyard of his house, just after returning from his military service in Rabasa, where his mother gave him that space to fulfil his great dream: to make shoes and be an entrepreneur. Long before, when he already knew what his goal was, he combined his work in his father's factory during the day and his studies in an academy at night, earning his first salaries, preparing the ground to launch his idea, and enjoying his two great passions in his free time: hunting and walking in the mountains.

But the beginnings, like all exciting projects, were not easy. In the context of a complicated economic situation in a country still in the shadow of the post-war period, there was fierce competition in a niche market as specific and reduced as men's shoes. Products such as sports, trekking or casual shoes did not yet exist in Spain, and this meant that the offer was very homogeneous and it was difficult to stand out from the competing companies and craft shoemakers. Problems that only with tenacity, enthusiasm and hard work made it possible for Paredes to take off as a company.

"My father always knew from an early age that he wanted to be a businessman, and he fought hard and sacrificed a lot to achieve it."

Francisco Paredes, Manager of Paredes

1954. The year we were born.

And we say where and not when because more than a date, that day marks a place in José's course, a course that would lead him to discover a new path. A course in the shape of a compass rose that he stamped next to our first logo, a prototype of our "path" as it symbolizes the courses to follow on the navigational charts.

From that moment on, Paredes was irremediably associated with research and nature.

Our first poduct:
Men´s footwear.

When Paredes began to take off, José took a step forward to improve his product even more and decided to bet on design, inviting Rafael Roselló, a Mallorcan who was brimming with energy and creativity, to join him on his path and who gave a giant boost to Paredes footwear, creating designs that today are part of the history of Spanish footwear. At that time, Rafael's signature appeared in all the promotions and advertisements of the Paredes era, becoming a mysterious figure with a certain air of a star for designing footwear that was beginning to revolutionize the market.

From the age of 8 to 13 he worked on a sewing machine in the "Casaqueta" factory. It was a different era, as child labour was common at that time.

The first pair that came out of José's hands was a pair of men's shoes, a product he knew perfectly well, as he worked on a sewing machine in the "Casaqueta" factory from the age of 8 to 13. This was a time when child labour was common in the factories of the time, something unthinkable in more advanced societies. As a result of this experience and the money he had accumulated over years of piecework, he began to develop his first prototypes and from there to sell his first pairs.

Men's shoes are a success
and we start to manufacture women's shoes.

La historia de Paredes comienza en el patio de su casa, justo a la vuelta de cumplir su servicio militar en Rabasa, donde su madre le cedió ese espacio para cumplir su gran sueño: fabricar zapatos y ser empresario. Mucho antes, cuando ya tenía claro cual era su objetivo, combinaba su trabajo en la fábrica de su padre por el día y los estudios en una academia por la noche, ganando sus primeros sueldos, preparando el terreno para poner en marcha su idea, y disfrutando sus dos grandes pasiones en sus ratos libres: la caza y pasear por la sierra.

Pero los inicios, como todos los proyectos ilusionantes, no fueron fáciles. Al contexto de una situación económica complicada de un país con la sombra aún presente de la postguerra, se le unía la feroz competencia en un nicho de mercado tan específico y reducido como el zapato de caballero. Productos como los deportivos, trekking o casual todavía no existían en España y eso hacía que la oferta fuese muy homogénea y fuera difícil destacar respecto a las empresas y zapateros artesanos de la competencia. Problemas que sólo con tesón, ilusión y trabajo duro hicieron posible que Paredes despegase como empresa.

Our first product:
Men's footwear.

The great experience that José accumulated over the years in that factory with his father and in that courtyard made him a true artist of men's shoes. He shared this great knowledge over the years with all the people who worked with him, making them one of the best teams of shoemakers in Spain.

A love and passion for taking care of his customers' feet that he transferred to his first advertisements in magazines, a basic and direct advertising that aimed to directly show the product that he had manufactured with so much care for that specific public.

One of José Paredes' greatest successes as a communicator was to distinguish between the customer who was going to use his product, in this case a man, and the customer who would normally buy it, i.e. a woman. And this was because at that time it was very common for women to be in charge of finding and buying the wardrobe of their whole family. And for that reason, most of the first advertisements appeared in magazines focused on the female sector.

In 1973 we launched on the national market
the first sports car in the history of the country.

And so, 20 years went by and 1973 arrived, a key year for Paredes and for the Spanish footwear sector. We designed, manufactured, and launched the first sports shoe in the history of the country, the competition style, commonly known as "tennis shoes", unleashing a revolution, not only in the way of relating to this new type of product, but also in the way of enjoying leisure time. People joined the Paredes movement and adopted a new lifestyle in which they enjoyed their sports shoes by doing sport, dancing, going out to parties, going for walks, etc. The brand became an icon and when you went into a shop you no longer asked for a sports shoe, you asked for a Paredes. Our brand became so popular and sold so much that our sports cars became a "generic", a milestone only reserved for products that transform people's lives and remain in their cultural reservoir.

The "tennis" were a success in Spain...and in many other places in the world, especially in Latin America and Africa, where to this day in many parts of those places they continue to call sports shoes "tennis" or "paredes".

Competition style:
A legendary shoe.

José like too much practicing sports. But he could only find the shoes he liked when he travelled outside Spain. So, he decided to solve this problem: He bought some Adidas shoes that he really liked and took them apart in the same shop. And merging that concept with his idea of the ideal sports shoe and the great experience acquired over so many years, he created the competition style, also popularly known as "tennis", the first Spanish sport shoe.

50 years have passed since then and it is still with us, the longest-lived style in our history and in our catalogue, a legend ready to discover new paths with you.

My father liked to practice sport, but in Spain he couldn't find the right shoes and had to go out to buy them.

Francisco Paredes, Manager of Paredes

The sports revolution.
The revolution in the streets.

We are in the middle of the 70's and suddenly sport becomes a social phenomenon that goes beyond the courts and athletics tracks and moves to the streets. And one of the keys to this revolution was thanks to sportsmen and women, people who became social and therefore advertising phenomena.

The 1970s were notable for the emergence of sports figures who became social and therefore publicity phenomena.

Television, already installed in most homes in Spain, sells this lifestyle through sports competitions and advertisements with the brands that advertise these sportsmen and women. People begin to align and connect with the lifestyle that sport promises, in which taking care of themselves and enjoying sport is something that complements their daily routine of work and conventional leisure.

The competition style gave way to more sports styles for specific sports such as football, basketball, handball... even specific ones for breakdance!

The first adverts for the new Paredes sports shoes start to appear on TV. At that time Paredes made sport shoes but sold a lifestyle based on enjoying leisure time with the flexibility and energy of sport. A successful combination that set the strategic direction of the company between 1975 and 1980.

In an advertising context where the internet did not yet exist and there was only one television channel, printed magazines were one of the most successful channels of diffusion at the time, and Paredes could not miss the opportunity that this medium offered him.

A revolution in the sector that
brought another unexpected benefit.

The success of Paredes de 1973 brought with it not only a revolution to the market but also to the business fabric of the area. The projection of this new product, the people who had training and the desire to start their own way, the professionals who could contribute auxiliary elements to our company, and above all the lack of work, brought with it an explosion and the emergence of national footwear brands, many of them from Elche and by extension from Alicante, and which fortunately today are still alive, active and with the same passion as the first day they were founded.

The success of Paredes brought with it an emergence of national footwear brands, many of them from Elche and by extension from Alicante.

Did you know that between 1975 and 1985, Paredes reached its historical peak of production capacity?

12

Factories
in Elche, Alicante.

800

Workers.

30.000

Pairs manufactured
every day.

Moldeado..

Y decimos dónde y no cuándo porque más que una fecha, ese día marca un lugar en el rumbo de José, rumbo que le llevaría a descubrir un nuevo camino. Un rumbo en forma de rosa de los 4 vientos que estampó junto a nuestro primer logotipo, una protoidea de nuestro “camino” ya que símboliza los rumbos a seguir en las cartas de navegación.

Desde ese momento Paredes quedó irremediablemente asociado a la búsqueda y a la naturaleza.

The 70s are coming to an end and Paredes is one of the leading footwear brands in Spain. Its men's shoes and new lines for women continue to win customers in the best shoe shops in Spain, and its new sports shoes are now a regular feature in every sports shop in Spain. Paredes' products sold an aura of freedom, creativity, and personality, and all this with the energy of the product, the connection with young people and sportsmen, and all this supported by promotions in the most popular media.

A perfect breeding ground for success.

And then came the eighties...

Our footwear is energized
and becomes a sporting legend.

1980 was a magical year for Paredes, as it marked the beginning of a golden era that would make it one of the best-loved and best-selling footwear brands in Spain. Its success was based on the sum of brand promotion, investment in marketing campaigns, a policy of continuous innovation and quality, international expansion and the consolidation of the large commercial network that José Paredes and his team had been creating with so much care over the last 25 years.

But to remain the number one brand and survive this decade was not easy. In addition to the introduction of new competing footwear brands in Spain, there was also a really complicated global situation, with problems such as ADS, crack, the war between Iran and Iraq, the cold war, rearmament, and nuclear tests, etc. Although the eighties were a time of many innovations, creativity, advances in sex education, and technological and cultural advances, the reality is that it was also a very turbulent and unstable period.

Paredes breaks another record.
We sponsor Moscow 1980.

1980 begins. Tennis, judo and jogging (which came to be called jogging, and nowadays we call it running) become very fashionable. The TV screens are filled with rhythm and colour with the choreographies of televised aerobics. The new law on physical culture and sport is passed. An era of repression comes to an end and we enter a new era of democratic freedom. The perfect breeding ground for the boom of sport as popular culture.

Currently Paredes launches its legendary "Moscow" style, and sponsors the 1980 Moscow Olympics, taking the brand to another level.

The 1980 law on physical culture and sport helped to transform the country's sporting landscape both in terms of physical education and teaching and the development of sport itself.

And what better way to enjoy the Paredes than in the greatest race in the world? Well, that's what we did. We packed our suitcase, put on our socks, put on our Paredes, and went jogging around New York City participating in the legendary New York Marathon. An event in which Paredes sport shoes proved to the world that they were one of the most long lasting, fashionable and comfortable shoes in the world.

The television boom catapulted the brand thanks to the "súbete por las paredes" campaign, now considered by experts to be one of the most successful campaigns in the history of advertising in Spain. Its catchy songs, colourful choreographies and energy connected with a whole generation looking for freedom and the desire to take on the world. The campaign, in which Leif Garret, a Californian composer and singer, collaborated by singing his songs, ended up attracting a large sector of the young public to the brand.

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La revolución del deporte:
La revolución en las calles.

In addition to the legendary advert "get on the Paredes", Leif Garret collaborates in the same campaign, and Paredes breaks a new advertising ceiling by being a national trend throughout 1980. The younger public vibrated with the songs of the American singer, and we even launched a promotional album where, in addition to his songs, Leif sent greetings to all his fans. The brand reaches here its greatest diffusion in Spain and enters the small club of the most loved brands by the Spaniards.

La década de los 70 destaca por el surgimiento de figuras deportivas que se conviertieron en fenómenos sociales y por tanto publicitarios .

Thursday, March 7, 1980.

Photograph with the Californian artist Leif Garret, his girlfriend at the time, Nicolette Sheridan, and Don José Paredes, at the time of his arrival at the Paredes facilities, where the singer signs a one-year contract with the company from Elche.

Did you know that 1980 was the turning point in the footwear sector in Spain due to the entry of foreign brands?

The strong entry of these new players into the Spanish footwear scene produced a series of changes in the whole sector and made all the national footwear companies had to transform their business. So, Paredes had to transform itself inside and out. We evolved our logo and decided that a compass rose was not enough to guide us in this new direction. We needed something more universal and bigger. And we remembered the stars that guided travelers in ancient times. A strong, eternal, pure light with the energy we wanted to reflect. And so, a new visual identity was born and a new mentality in the brand: to follow our own course, come what may.

My grandfather was always passionate about nature, and especially about the native fauna of the different countries he visited on his business trips.

Geno Paredes, responsable del departamento de importación.

In 1981 we adapted again.
Mountain footwear was born.

Due to the new scenario that was soon to present itself with the entry of these companies, José and his son Francisco, using their experience in noble materials such as leather, linings, special soles, etc., and their passion for nature and the mountains, decided to take a risk and launched the Paredes line of mountain footwear, becoming, to their surprise, an immediate success. The new proposal immediately connected with all those people who love nature and spread from the big cities to the most remote corners of the peninsula. Paredes had managed to reach every corner of Spain and its outdoor footwear was positioned as one of the most purchased and valued in the country, a recognition that continues today and is an essential part of our brand's catalogue.

The success of this new collection quickly turned Paredes into a brand that attracted the attention of another type of customer: the hunting sector, a public with higher protection and comfort requirements than amateur mountaineers or hikers, a sector that both Francisco and Don José knew very well, as they were very fond of this practice, and this helped them to know in depth what was the best that was needed to make footwear in accordance with this activity.

At the end of the eighties, Paredes became one of the major references as a brand of quality mountain footwear for all Spanish hunters. The image on the left shows a traditional video that was given as a gift for each pair sold of this particular line, and in which Francisco Paredes appears in a TV production showing tips and activities related to hunting.

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1984 arrives.
The birth of a myth.

Although Paredes began to diversify its product range, the brand continued to launch its beloved sports collections, and as a result of this continuous work to improve our most successful line, in 1984 we launched one of the most legendary models of the brand. The "Estrella", a sports style that over the years has become known as the "Paredes de toda la vida".

A model that after 40 years still feels like walking on a cloud.

Did you know that in 2021 the legendary Madrid-based brand El Ganso launched
a limited edition of our legendary Estrella?

El Ganso was encouraged to "climb the Walls" with us and thanks to this shared passion to offer a unique style to our customers, they launched a limited edition of our trainers that kept the DNA of the traditional Paredes and also their unmistakable British style.

Paredes changes and transforms
We diversify our product.

1980 es para Paredes un año mágico ya que marcó el inicio de una era dorada que la convertiría en una de las marcas de calzado más querida y vendida en España. Su éxito radicó en la suma de la potencia- ción de la marca, la inversión en campañas de marketing, una política de innovación y calidad continua, la expansión internacional y la consolidación de la gran red comercial que con tanto esmero había ido creando José Paredes y su equipo durante los últimos 25 años.

Pero mantenerse como marca no1 y sobrevivir en esta década no fué fácil. A la introducción de nuevas marcas competidoras de calzado en España, se le sumó una situación global realmente complicada, con problemas como el sida, el crack, la guerra entre Irán e Irak, la guerra fría, el rearme y las pruebas nucleares, etc. Y es que aunque los ochenta fueron unos años de muchas innovaciones, creatividad, avances en educación sexual, y avances tecnológicos y culturales, la realidad es que fue también una época muy convulsa y poco estable.

Paredes Seguridad.
Protection and comfort.

Paredes Seguridad was founded in 1997 by Rafael Paredes, son of José Paredes, at a time of exponential growth in developed countries in terms of PRL regulations, employee care and, above all, the improvement of well-being and safety in the workplace.

Rafael bets on innovation in this sector and launches a product that breaks all the schemes of the sector: the fusion of sports footwear and safety footwear. The brand quickly became an essential part of Paredes and created a new path that has been followed with the same strength ever since.

Paredes Seguridad was born out of the need to diversify our catalogue, our desire to bring something new to the market, and a trend towards employee care and protection.

Pepe Paredes, nephew of Rafael and Francisco Paredesand Product Development Manager.