Founded in 1966, the company based in Vila do Conde, a city in the North of Portugal, is represented in more than 50 markets.

Élio Parodi, the founder of the company, was the inventor of a sole that better supports the arch of the foot, which is the main sustainer of the spine. From here came the name Arco+Pédico (arch of the foot). But that wasn´t just a one-time successful invention of a scientist. Since he was an hydraulic engineer he started to think about new materials to be used in the manufacturing of footwear. At the time there wasn’t any knitted fabric to be incorporated in footwear, and he started to think about an alternative. In 1966 he created a new fabric, a nylon mesh one.

Always with an innovative design, Arcopédico has specialized in women’s footwear, even though it has some male models. The shoes weight just over 120 grams and the current concern of the company is about ecologic materials. That’s been the case of Lytech, a non-natural leather material, which is monoelastic, giving the feet a different type of comfort, and which was created by Arcopédico.

4 000 pairs of shoes are produced daily by Arcopédico, using over 300 models. More than 90% of the production is exported and although the manufacturing process has technological machinery incorporated, a lot of work is still handmade, which allows Arcopedico to differentiate itself from other footwear brands, due to its manual components.

For more information about Arcopédico please refer to the company’s website.