modebranchen.NU NU International June 2019 | Page 36

LOFINA
- a Danish-Italian love story
The family behind Lofina is Danish, but a love for Italy plays a
central role in the shoe company’s success.
BY HELLE MATHIESEN
The shoe brand Lofina was founded by Lise-Lotte and
Morten Svenninggaard who met each other as 18-
year-olds at a Danish business school with focus on the
shoe business. The couple fell in love and moved to Italy
together after finishing their studies. Here, a new love
arose; a love for Italy and the rich Italian craftsman-
ship traditions.
In January of 1996, after returning to Denmark, Lise-
Lotte and Morten Svenninggaard realised their dream
of launching their very own shoe brand. Later, the
daughters Sisse and Sofie Svenninggaard joined the
family business, which is seeing rapid expansion in
large export markets such as Germany, Great Britain
and France.
Five years ago, the entire revenue came from Scandi-
navia, but now Lofina’s sales have spread to most of
Europe, Japan and more recently, Russia. In September,
Lofina is attending the CPM fair in Moscow for the se-
cond time. Additionally, Lofina will exhibit at Gallery in
Düsseldorf, Who’s Next in Paris, CIFF in Copenhagen as
well as at In Fashion Munich.
- At the trade fair Who’s Next, Lofina’s design has been
picked out for the trend exhibition, and the brand has
seen significant hype in France, CEO Morten Svenning-
gaard tells NU on a visit to Odder in Denmark.
MEET THE FAMILY
In Russia, a sales agent represents Lofina, which is also
the case in Great Britain and Ireland, France and Austria.
In the remaining markets, the family members are over-
seeing sales themselves.
- We prioritize being close to our customers, which ty-
pically include independent fashion and lifestyle shops
where the owners do their own buying. Through the
years, we have built close relationships with many re-
tailers, and I believe that our deep passion for Lofina
is a significant contributor to the company’s success.
That is why we make it a priority to attend as many trade
shows as possible, and our customers expect to meet
us there. Also, we wouldn’t want to miss out on it, says
Morten Svenninggaard. His daughter elaborates:
- Ninety per cent of Lofina’s about 300 customers are