Tod's S.p.A.

Founding

Filippo Della Valle started the shoemaking business out of his family home in the late 1920s. Diego Della Valle, the elder son of Dorino, and a grandson of Filippo, expanded the workshop and turned it into a factory that started manufacturing shoes in the 1970s. During the 1980s, Diego used nascent marketing strategies such as influencer marketing. He named the company J.P. Tod's in 1978. The brand later dropped the "J.P." in 1999 after the brand became inadvertently known as solely "J.P.'s" instead of the preferred Tod's. He selected the name from a Boston, Massachusetts phonebook in an effort to Americanize the Italian brand and court high-end consumers in New York.

They introduced the "Gommino" leather (suede) loafers in 1979 and their signature handbag collection in 1980. The shoe is widely viewed as a knockoff of the Original Car Shoe which was founded in 1963 and pioneered the driving loafer.

Creation of Tod's Group and Roger Vivier acquisition controversy (1986-2003)

In an effort to diversify the family's business interests, they launched two sister brands, Fay (in 1986) and Hogan (in 1988), later forming Tod's Group.

Tod's Group subsequently bought 60% of Roger Vivier, the French shoemaker known for the stiletto heel, in 1995. Tod's later acquired further stock in Roger Vivier for €415 million, growing their stake from 57.5% to 60.7%. By late 1990s, Diego turned over the day-to-day operation of the business to Andrea, his younger brother. Time described their family dynamic in 2006 with: "Andrea plays the goalie to Diego's striker, the introverted, behind-the-scenes power broker to Diego's extroverted, genial public persona." Tod's sales increased from €220 million in 2000 to €371 million in 2003. Tod's went public in November 2000, listing on the Milan Stock Exchange at a valuation of €1.2 billion.