History
1952
The Company was founded in 1952, in the city of São Paulo under the name “Companhia Industrial Brasileira de Calçados Vulcanizados S.A.”, focused on the production of leather shoes with vulcanized rubber sole.
The famous national icon of male footwear was born this year: “752” shoe.
50s
Vulcabras factory was transferred to the city of Jundiaí (SP), where new items were added to the production line, such as rubber boots, leather footwear and PVC footwear.
In 1958 was founded the “Calçados Azaleia” at Parobé (RS), which was made for production of women’s footwear. From this point Azaleia brand was born.
1973
Vulcabras enters in athletic international footwear segment, becoming in the following years licensed for the exclusive production and commercialization in Brazil of several internationally recognized brands such as: Adidas, Puma, Le Coq Sportif, Lotto, Reebok and others. This was the beginning of our production of high performance sneakers.
1975
Calçados Azaleia, until then a manufacturer of women’s footwear, joins the athletic footwear segment with the launch of the Olympikus brand.
The first model of sneakers was made of leather, suitable for day-to-day school use, a durable and “indestructible” model.
1977
The Inicial Public Offering (IPO) of Vulcabras S.A on the Bovespa drives the Company to a new cycle of growth.
80s
Throughout the 80’s, Vulcabras grew through the acquisition of several companies of the footwear market located, mainly, in the city of Franca (SP), an important footwear pole of manufacturers of footwear of leather.
90s
In the search for cost improvement, due to competition with imported products, Vulcabras S/A. decides to change its industrial operation to the Northeast region, which started to grant state fiscal incentives jointly with the Federal Government, with fiscal income incentives, for the implantation of new footwear and clothing industries.
In addition to fiscal incentives, other factors, such as less expensive labor and regional ease and export financing, also contributed to decision making
2003
In 2003 we acquired “VDA Calzados y Artículos Deportivos S.A.” in Argentina, for whom we already exported our products, starting the process of internationalization of our business, aiming at the direct distribution of our products in that market.
2004
We started the production of sportswear at Vulcabras, complementing the footwear line and diversifying the company’s production.
2005
With the Reebok brand, Vulcabras starts sponsoring São Paulo Futebol Clube, one of the largest football teams in Brazil (a national passion), becoming a manufacturer of sportswear technology to football, becoming one of the sports shoes of Brazil that invest more in the sport.
2007
Vulcabras S.A acquires Calçados Azaléia S/A, owner of the brands Olympikus, Azaléia, Dijean and Opanka.
Thus, Vulcabras|azaleia, the largest sports footwear industry in Latin America, is born at age 55.
In the same year, we acquired Indular Manufacturas S.A., which allowed Vulcabras|azaleia to produce directly in Argentina, becoming one of the largest manufacturers of sports shoes in that country.
2008
Exclusive licensee of Reebok since 1996, Vulcabras and Adidas International make a joint venture in order to develop, produce and distribute brand products in Brazil and Argentina.
2009
Vulcabras Azaleia consolidates its market leadership, with a portfolio of 7 brands and more than 500 annual releases, sponsoring the biggest teams of the first Brazilian soccer division: São Paulo, Internacional, Cruzeiro and Flamengo, as well as the Argentine teams Lanus, Racing and Argentinos Juniors.
It also reinforces its commitment to the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the Brazilian men’s and women’s volleyball team that has been a sponsor since 1997.
2010
Vulcabras S/A. starts to be called Vulcabras Azaleia S/A. and consolidates its leadership in the sports footwear market and its vocation for growth in the face of industry opportunities in the coming years.
In the country’s largest study of the sector, Azaleia stood out among the consumers as the best-known, preferred brand and the main brand of Brazilian women’s footwear.
Dijean has always prioritized the diversity in its models and colors to always be close to the teenager public.
2011 to 2014
The years 2011 to 2014 were marked by deep restructuring.
The restructuring projects aimed at reducing costs, improving the efficiency of our workforce, maintaining the positioning of our products in the brazilian and foreign markets, improving the distribution system, supply chain, logistics and to align our managers towards our strategies.
Olympikus becomes the official brand of the Rio de Janeiro marathon.
2015
As a result of the restructuring process, the Company created the following Divisions:
- Division of Women’s Shoes, under the brands Azaleia, Dijean and Opanka;
- Division of Footwear and Clothing, under the brands Olympikus and OLK;
- Division of Operations in the Foreign Market.
The year 2015 was marked by the end of the factory restructuring with the consolidation of the national production in three productive industrial plants.
In December 2015 the company sold Vulcabras Azaleia Argentina S.A., which was responsible for the commercialization and retail distribution of footwear and clothing of our brands in the Argentine market.
2016
After the restructuring process, a new Vulcabras Azaleia emerged with:
- Three industrial units located in Bahia, Ceará and Sergipe;
- One of the largest Footwear Technology and Development Center in Latin America, with more than 1,000 models developed per year, located in Parobé in Rio Grande do Sul;
- An administrative center in São Paulo, and;
- Two distribution units in Peru and Colombia;
This compound of development, production and marketing is the differential that accredits us as the Brazilian Company of “Management of Footwear Brands in Brazil”.
The Olympikus brand was present in several actions during the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro, as a result, the brand was pointed out among the ten most remembered of the Olympics.
2017
RE-IPO
In October 2017, we held a public offering that resulted in a significant increase in liquidity of the shares and led the Company to the Novo Mercado, a segment that brings together the companies with the highest level of corporate governance at B3.
2018
Under Armour
In October 2018, Vulcabras Azaleia S.A. entered into exclusive distribution and licensing agreements for the brand in Brazil for 10 years. The contracts also include manufacturing and commercialization of Under Armor products: footwear, apparel and accessories.
2019
Modernization of Manufacturing Plants and own Management of E-commerce.
In 2019 Modernization of Manufacturing Plants and own Management of E-commerce. This year the Company advanced with the project to modernize its manufacturing plants. In the 18/19 biennium, additional investments in modernization outpaced the R$ 100 million mark. In 2019, the Company brought to its own management, E-commerce for its Brands, Olympikus.com.br, Azaleia.com.br and Underarmour.com.
2020
For being a powerhouse in the sports segment, the Vulcabras Group decides to focus its operations exclusively on managing sports brands, thus licensing the women’s brand Azaleia to the Grendene Group.
2021
Vulcabras Azaleia S.A. changes its name to Vulcabras S.A. and starts to operate and produce the Mizuno brand in Brazil. The group now has a new visual identity, and incorporates in its communications the signature “We live for the sport”, thus endorsing not only its history but also its experience and focus on the sports segment.
2022
Vulcabras´ creates the Olympikus Corre Grafeno, the world’s first running shoe with graphene plate. Also this year, the Company started to use wind energy in the production of 100% of its shoes.