With origins dating back to 1879, Heinrich Dinkelacker is a name that has become synonymous with quality men’s shoes. Considered to be Germany’s most exclusive men’s shoe brand, their shoes are available in 147 stores in five countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Japan.
Small Town Roots
Originally, in 1879, Heinrich Dinkelacker chose a small town in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state by the name of Sindelfingen. This small town had a reputation of being home to some of Germany’s – if not the world’s – best shoemakers. Sindelfingen served as the company’s headquarters for many, many years. Today, however, the company’s headquarters are in Budapest, Hungary.
The Move to Budapest
By the time the 1960s rolled around, Heinrich Dinkelacker was finding it difficult to find the shoe making talent he needed in Germany. As a result, he began to look at options for his company and he turned his attention to the “Capital of Shoemaking”, Budapest, Hungary. It was a logical move since his shoes were already crafted in what was known as the style of “Budapest Shoes”. Since the 1960s, Hungarian craftsmen have been hand-crafting Heinrich Dinkelacker shoes – as many as 10,000 per year.
Handcrafted Perfection
In today’s world of automation, many still appreciate that Heinrich Dinkelacker shoes are crafted in the same manner as they were in the early days of the company, by hand. This level of quality takes time, usually more than 15 days including 10 hours of pure manual labor. Focusing on the tradition of quality guarantees that Heinrich Dinkelacker shoes are the best quality, long-lasting shoes with a perfect fit.
A Modern Company
The advent of the newest millennium found Heinrich Dinkelacker in an odd position. For the first time since the company’s inception in 1879, there was no family heir to whom the torch of the company’s leadership could be passed. That’s when three shoe lovers stepped in to take over leadership of the company. Those three were Norbert Lehmann, a former IBM Manager; Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, a former CEO of Porsche AG; and, Anton Hunger, the former Head of PR at Porsche AG. It is through their leadership, that the Heinrich Dinkelacker brand grew while maintaining their focus on quality and perfection. This culminated in 2015 when they brought home a prestigious award: Brand of the Century.
Heinrich Dinkelacker further evolved in the fall of 2016 through its merger with Shoepassion GmbH. The Berlin-based shoe brand had been offering its own collection of Goodyear-welted, full-leather shoes for men and women as well as sophisticated accessories since the beginning of 2010, and initially operated exclusively online. The historic merger of one of the oldest German shoe brands with one of the youngest united classic craftsmanship with 21st-century digital savvy.
At that time, Heinrich Dinkelacker made the decision to put their bespoke shoe service, at which they’d been excelling for nearly a decade, on hold. They have a waiting list, so there’s still a chance that the dust on the Shoepassion/Heinrich Dinkelacker merger will settle and they’ll again add this service.
A quality shoe can make the man, and Heinrich Dinkelacker has understood this for more than 138 years. Under the shoe, though, make sure you have the best accessories, read Socks: The Latest Fashion Trend. So, tell us, do you own a pair of these fine men’s shoes?
