BRANTANO

Brantano went into administration in March 2017, and its stores closed in June 2017 with the loss of over 900 jobs. The chain had specialised in affordable footwear for men, women and children across Europe. Its story is one of a long-running value shoe retailer that ultimately could not survive a tough retail climate.

Brantano was a European chain of retail stores specialising in footwear for men, women and children. It built its name on accessible, family-focused shoe shopping rather than on a single hero product. Its slogan, "Brantano, en de wereld ligt aan je voeten" ("Brantano, and the world is at your feet"), captured that broad, everyday positioning.

Brantano was founded in Belgium, originating from a small factory run by André Brantegem and his brother in Lede, East Flanders. The Brantegem brothers were the sons of a cobbler. So the brand grew out of a genuine family shoemaking background.

The brand was founded by André Brantegem, who started a retail outlet at the family factory in 1962 after he and his brother had separated. The brothers had specialised in ladies' shoes sold to wholesalers and retailers in Belgium. That single retail outlet eventually grew into the Brantano chain of shoe shops.

The name comes directly from the founding family, the Brantegem brothers, who ran the original small shoe factory in Lede, East Flanders. They were the sons of a cobbler and began by making ladies' shoes for the Belgian wholesale and retail trade. The retailer that André launched in 1962 carried the family name forward.

From its Belgian roots, Brantano grew into a multi-country footwear chain with subsidiaries in several markets. These included Brantano Luxembourg, which operated stores in Luxembourg, and Brimmo NV and Muys NV, which operated stores in Belgium. The group also once had Dutch, Danish and French stores.

The contraction came in stages. Brantano closed its Dutch and Danish stores in 2005 and subsequently liquidated its French stores, well before the final collapse. The chain's remaining stores closed in June 2017 after it went into administration earlier that year.

Ownership changed hands several times. The Dutch holding company Macintosh Retail Group took over Brantano in 2007, then sold the UK subsidiary to Alteri Investors in 2015 and the wider brand to FNG N.V. in 2018. FNG N.V. later filed for bankruptcy, and after a failed relaunch of its brands it was liquidated, marking the end of the Brantano lineage.