Brand Info
Romika was originally founded in Germany in 1922 and the name was decided upon when three businessmen, Mr Hans Rollman, Mr Karl Michael and Mr Karl Kaufmann decided to use the first letters of their surname to create ROMIKA.
The partners were confident in marketing their brand as the name was easy to pronounce both in Germany and internationally and it soon became a synonym for high quality footwear, over 85 years later this name of simple beginnings has become one of the most popular shoe brands worldwide.
Pioneers from the beginning, Romika have invented and used many new materials and constructions in their designs such as foam rubber and Vibram soles.
In 1933, due to the radical political changes and economic issues that were taking place, the founders of Romika had to abandon their business and it wasn’t until 1936 that the Romika trademark was transferred to Mr Lemm. Lemm established a new company, Romika GmbH in the same year and after starting production with only 50 people 6 months later he had 545 employees.
Sadly, during the Second World War, the Romika factory, which was employing 1000 people, was bombed and destroyed. The reconstruction started once the war had ended with 50 workers. To begin with they produced footwear soles but the production of rubber boots soon resumed and Romika became the first manufacturer to work with heated presses.
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.
In 2005 Romika was insolvent but was taken over by The Josef Seibel Group and a new company was founded, Romika Shoes GmbH. This allowed 80 staff to stay continue their employment in the Trier Head Office and 300 factory workers in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the support and resources of the Josef Seibel Group, Romika have been able to continue producing their designs while using new production and distribution methods.
Rather than sending production to the Far East, the Josef Seibel Group believes in keeping manufacturing close to home. This practice resulted in the slogan “The European Comfort Shoe” as 70% of production is carried out in Eastern Europe, 5% is manufactured in the West, including Germany, and 25% of the production is located in Asia.
