Arche

French shoe manufacturer. Established in 1968 in ChÀteau-Renault by André Hélaine, its has always emphasized the imagination of its designs and a variety of colors. In 1981 the firm launched an original calfskin ankle-boot with a latex sole, under the Archette label. In 1990 the firm was no. 20 in the top 100 French companies. It employs 160 workers and manufactures 2,000 pairs of shoes a day, in the same plant as at the beginning.
At the beginning of the new millennium the firm remains in the control of the founding family, which owns 81% of the shares. Annual results are still excellent, despite difficult conditions in the industry.
The company’s first pilot store opened in Soho in New York. The Institute of Store Design declared the Arche store “the most beautiful boutique in New York.”
The store in Paris opened, on Boulevard de la Madeleine in a space previously occupied by Bally. There were additional openings in Bordeaux, Vincennes, Nimes and Zurich. At the end of 2002 there were 17 stores in France and around 30 in the rest of the world.
By the end of the year new stores were expected in Milan, Geneva, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin, Singapore and Moscow.