The tale of Havaianas

Since 1962, Havaianas has been promoting Brazilian culture around the globe with its recognizable rubber sole and designs that are vibrant, colorful, and inspired by the summer. Every pair of Havaianas flip flops is still created and manufactured in Brazil, where it all began.

With over 252 million pairs of sandals sold annually in more than 100 countries, Havaianas is the market leader in the sandal category globally and is a must-have for both beachgoers and trend setters. The corporation has regional offices in Los Angeles, Madrid, and Hong Kong in addition to its headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

All of it began with a sandal

The original Havaianas style was modeled from the traditional Japanese sandal known as Zori, which consists of a thin sole made of rice straw and fabric straps. By adopting rubber as their primary raw material in 1962 and adapting the Japanese sandal for the Brazilian market by using the texture of rice grains for the sole, Alpargatas’ designers were able to ensure the comfort, robustness, and versatility of the new sandal.

The brand’s trajectory saw a significant change at the beginning of the 1990s! The brand had solely provided the Tradicional style up until that point. The first flip flops had straps that came in four distinct colors and were fastened to rubber soles that were always white on top and the strap’s color on the bottom. Surfers who loved the brand started personalizing their flip flops in an effort to make them a more vibrant accessory. They separated the straps from the sole, turned the sole over so the non-white color was exposed, and this resulted in the construction of a solid-colored sandal. The new monochrome sandal, the Top, was quickly introduced after the Havaianas Design Team exploited the concept.

Originally offered in 4 colors—black, royal blue, purple, and pink—the Top line now comes in more than 15 hues, with new, fashionable hues debuting each season.

By launching a NY office in 2007 and establishing roots in the US and Europe the following year, Havaianas went outside Brazil.

The company sells products that go well beyond the conventional sandals at more than a hundred and fifty thousand places of sale in Brazil and in more than 100 other countries.

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