Josef Robel built a shoe retail chain Robel
Josef Robel, former manager of footwear plants, has built a shoe retail chain Robel with 34 stores all over Slovakia and last year’s sales of €8m. It sells quality brands such as Rieker, Bugatti, Tamaris, Gabor and Hogl. Between May and October the company was under temporary bankruptcy protection and emerged with all 34 stores and kept all 100+ workers. The state pandemic assistance covered most of its wages when stores were closed. Local shopping mall owners were more willing to provide discounts off rent than multinational ones. It expects a 20% drop in sales this year.
