What Humanic is known for
Austrian shoe retail chain tracing to D.H. Pollak & Co., a shoe manufacturer founded in Graz in 1872; the Humanic name launched in 1907 with its first stores in Vienna, and the company remains headquartered in Graz.
Humanic's roots go back to 1872, when D.H. Pollak & Co. was established in Graz as a shoe manufacturer — the founding entity behind what is today the holding company Leder & Schuh International AG, still headquartered on the same Graz site. The firm grew quickly, eventually running multiple factories and stores and producing around 20,000 pairs of shoes a week, making it one of the largest shoe producers in Central Europe at the time.
The Humanic retail brand itself came later: in 1907, 'the American Shoe House HUMANIC' opened its first two stores, both in Vienna — one on Kärntnerring opposite the Hotel Bristol, the other on Mariahilferstraße opposite Hotel Palace. The brand name and the manufacturing company are historically distinct threads that merged into today's group.
Humanic has since grown into the market leader in the middle and upper shoe-retail segment in Austria, and holds the number-one or -two position across seven Central and Eastern European countries under the Leder & Schuh group, which also operates the Shoe4You banner. The company remains headquartered in Graz.
Best for — Fashion footwear
Austria / Europe
Where next
- La Boutique Athlan’s — Champéry
- Elie Saab — Paris
- One Step — France
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