BRAND SANJO®

BRAND SANJO®

In 1933, the construction of the first Portuguese sneakers brand began in São João da Madeira. In honor of the city that gave birth to it, it is named SANJO®, established in 1936. Made entirely in Portugal, in the late 1940s and 1950s the brand SANJO® were already a phenomenon and were found on everyone’s feet. It was not until 1944 that the SANJO® factory was finally built. In the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, SANJO® becomes indispensable in the world of sport – you can find sneakers throughout the history of sports photography in Portugal. Despite its special bond with its hometown team, the Sanjoanense football team, the brand was present in other sports teams, becoming the leading brand of sports shoes in Portugal. With the end of the regime in 1974, Portuguese markets were opened and SANJO® could not compete with the rise of international sports brands. The Companhia Industrial de Chapelaria closed its doors in 1996, along with SANJO® and the sad loss of the sneakers mold. In 1997, the brand SANJO® is purchased and, under new management, begins its second life. Much research work has been done, investigating archives, collecting old shoes and old images and photographs to get material needed to reproduce the lost mold of the SANJO® sneakers. In 2010, SANJO® returns to the market with the two most familiar Portuguese models, K100 and K200. The impossibility of producing vulcanized soles in Portugal caused the SANJO® brand to start in China – it was a necessary step to keep the sneakers as similar as they were before, in their golden age, with the vulcanized sole and the canvas part on top. Held by a very Portuguese revival, the brand SANJO® begins to emerge again in the memory of the Portuguese. In 2019, SANJO® is acquired by a business group from Braga. With a new young and dynamic team, the process of having a totally Portuguese production begins and, working with a factory in Felgueiras, SANJO® becomes Made in Portugal again. The vulcanized outsole has been lost by introducing a more environmentally conscious glued outsole, while still maintaining the typical SANJO® rubber and canvas that have accompanied generations. It is to this generation work that the brand intends to continue building more than just a sneaker – building a legacy. SANJO® didn’t just come back – it came back and returned with a desire to grow, evolve and continue to write a story at the feet of the Portuguese and those who loves its design.