When Diego Rosetti began his longstanding romance with shoes , he was too small for his boots. He fondly remembers his first pair. He was 14 and couldn't wait to be the size big enough to finally wear the pair he really wanted. "I still recall they were ankle boots. It was such an emotion to step into them." The emotion launched a whole career.

Stepping into dad's shoes
Rossetti's father Renzo Rossetti, started with a small business in the mid 1950s, crafting shoes by himself. "My father hired his first employee in 1956." Rossetti started working for the company as a high-school lad during his summer vacation. "I was very young but working with him, I began to appreciate my father's passion for what he started. The shoe is a difficult item. In a small object, there are many different concerns and phases of production. Everything must be right to work. Some aspects are invisible but they are important for quality."

Great quality equals happy feet
A dress can be a bit loose or ill fitting, Rossetti reasons, but not a shoe. Since comfort and style must blend together perfectly, there is deep know-how involved in producing shoes. Each Fratelli Rossetti shoe is manufactured in their headquarters outside Milan. Rossetti's own office is under the main factory, keeping the operations very tight knit. A lot of luxury companies license their shoe businesses and take responsibility for style, but they don't really know how the shoes are made, he says. "The shoes look good but they don't have the know-how. Our strategy is to always be the leader in handcrafted leather goods. We don't want to extend the brand to other areas.

Playing footsie with the Indian customer
Despite the obvious opportunities India offers, Rossetti says the brand's biggest challenge is to make Indian consumers aware about Fratelli Rossetti's great tradition of high-quality products. He is clear he needs to take a totally different approach from the existing five or six global footwear brands in India because they are not well known in the Indian luxury market yet. "In case of Fratelli Rossetti, customers need to understand why they should pay double or triple of what they are used to paying for a pair of shoes. This won't happen overnight or easily. But we have seen from our shop in Dubai that word of mouth is really the best advertising for us. In Europe most of our customers are very loyal. They come to us when they need to buy shoes and we would like the same to happen in India." The range for India targets both men and women. Women can choose from sandals, open shoes, pumps and other styles. "Our taste is very close to the traditional Indian taste. We have had a better reaction from women because they understand the style and the refinement of our product better. Men are still a little reluctant to make the big jump from the products they are used to buying to a better product of a totally different quality."

Bound by duty
The Fratelli Rossetti store at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt Hotel has had a good run in India. But Rossetti is disappointed that their plans to launch in Delhi are behind schedule. More important, the brand is below the critical mass of business to really roll in India. He feels strongly about the sacrifice they have to make in terms of margin to balance the high cost of their shoes. Fratelli Rossetti shoes already have a high retail price because of their high quality. In India they are even more expensive because of the high import duty so they risk losing value for money. Margins have to be compromised to keep the shoes from becoming unbearably expensive. “It’s difficult to do business here. This is sad because we have a very active market here. Our Indian customers are very happy when they receive the new catalogue and flock to the shop. So we see big opportunities; on the other hand there are a lot of inconveniences.”

Luxury does not have to scream RICH
Rossetti stresses that his brand targets people with a similar attitude and outlook in India to their clients in Italy. They look for quality and style. “Very often luxury is about showing off. It’s about making a loud statement. But we don’t believe in this philosophy. I don’t want for us to be known as leaders in luxury as much as leaders in high quality.” High quality is costly too, he concedes. But luxury reminds him of something that is overpriced; it doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as quality.

Where have all the millionaires gone?
The high import duties in India don’t leave enough resources to invest in communication, rues the Italian. This leads to the risk of getting lost in the Indian market. “India is a huge country. Millionaires are scattered. We need to find them and connect with them. That needs investment in communication.”

Body without sole
Candid in his appraisal of the Indian footwear market, Rossetti feels that barring some moccasins, the quality of Indian shoes is not at par with global standards. The average quality of most stuff in the market is very low, he says. “The uppers are just glued to the soles.” You tend to see nicer shoes in the ladies section with fun styles and pretty embroideries. But men’s shoes leave much to be desired.”

Carrying forward the Rossetti tradition
The Rossetti gen-next comprises seven boys and girls but there is no pressure on the youngsters to join the business. “If they feel it will be easy for them to get a job because we have a family business, they are mistaken. You really have to have a lot of passion to be here.”

Happy in his brown suede shoes
A traditionalist when it comes to his own style, Rossetti sheepishly admits he always ends up in similar shoe styles himself. “I am so involved in designing all day long that I end up choosing totally basic stuff for myself. I love suede shoes because they are easy to maintain and very basic.” He is partial to a navy jacket with beige pants but likes a perfect fit and excellent quality.