The project of the Tre Zeta Group of San Miniato (Pisa), which aims to aggregate industrial companies to control the supply chain of soles for luxury shoes, both trainers and formal wear, is advancing. Now the Group, from 2021 in the hands of the private equity fund Koinos Capital, has scored its fourth acquisition, securing 100% of Walking World, a small company in Porto Recanati (Macerata) founded by Antonio Giampaoli and Sonia Mangialardo, active in the production of components for trainers: insoles (fussbett) and fillers for polyurethane foam and film soles.
Over the past few years Walking World has grown in double figures, reaching a turnover of EUR 3.4 million with a profit of EUR 968,000 in 2022, according to the latest balance sheet filed. In particular, the Marche-based company has invested in a plant for the production of polyurethane soles with film, patented and unique on the market, which guarantees greater efficiency and reduction of waste. With this operation, the value of which has not been disclosed, Tre Zeta “strengthens its control of the shoe structure value chain and the offer of products, materials and services to customers,” explains a note. The aim is to use advanced technologies to improve performance on the product, timing and sustainability fronts, responding better to market needs. “The operation is part of Tre Zeta’s plan to build a reference group in the production of components for the structure of luxury footwear, through organic growth and external lines,” the company says.
Previous acquisitions involved Stil Stampi (aluminium moulds for soles), Suolificio Magonio (leather soles for formal shoes) and Solettificio Do.Gi (insoles for women’s formal shoes), all based in Tuscany. With Walking World, the group (also present in the Veneto region with its Brenta Suole sole factory and in Tunisia with its subsidiary Ste Tre Zeta, which produces trainer and formal soles) expands to the Marche region, home to a historic footwear district with valuable producers. Tre Zeta’s ambition is to present itself to its customers as a single integrated interlocutor, strong also in numbers. In 2022 the Group exceeded 76 million euro pro-forma revenues; in 2023 it consolidated results. “Walking World represents a further accelerator for our growth”, emphasises Fabrizio Mecheri, CEO of Tre Zeta, “and opens up further synergies for a complete offer as only a ‘one stop shop’ interlocutor can have”.