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There's no business like shoe business. Especially when your shoe business is growing by giant steps internationally, and you're credited as one of the few Canadian retailers to make it big in the United States. That's exactly where Aldo Group, located in the Montreal borough of St. Laurent, finds itself in 2002.
Aldo already has sole possession of an estimated 25% of Canadian shoe sales under several brands aimed at different market niches, including global brand Aldo, Pegabo, Simard, Calderone, Globo, Transit and Feet First. Or, as Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at retail consultancy J.C. Williams Group in Toronto, puts it: "In Canada, they're it. They're the biggest thing in shoes by a long shot."
Now, Aldo is in one-third of U.S. states with about 120 stores and 15 to 20 added annually, has 12 franchised outlets in Israel, is increasing its presence in the Middle East by opening outlets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, and is adding several London, England locations to its list this year. Continental Europe and Asia are set to follow, making Aldo one of the few Canadian retail brands to go international. All told, the company now generates about $600 million in annual sales from its more than 600 stores, of which about $400 million comes from its 450 stores in Canada. (The other Canadian-based shoe-retailing giant, Bata Industries, operates about 260 stores in Canada under the Bata, Athletes World, Nike Shop and Out There banners, and has more than 4,700 co-owned retail stores worldwide.)
"Because there are so many growth opportunities, you can feel the excitement and buzz in the office," says Robert Hoppenheim, director of marketing for the company's Aldo division (which includes Aldo Canada, Aldo US, Aldo International, Aldo Accessories, Aldo power centre and liquidation concepts and Stoneridge, "an edgy, street-oriented fashion footwear boutique"). "Even during an economic downturn, the company continues to do well and the growth objectives are as aggressive as ever."
Aldo is named after Aldo Bensadoun, the Moroccan-born, French-raised and publicityshy company founder who owns 95% of the footwear empire. Shoes run in the family: His father ran a chain of shoe stores in Morocco and his grandfather was a cobbler.
Bensadoun opened his first...