Fire strikes Skinners twice: Czech "sock-shoe" maker loses warehouses in Portugal and Zlín

Czech footwear company Skinners, known for its sock-like barefoot shoes, has suffered two fires at partner facilities in recent weeks — one in Portugal and one in Zlín — putting it at risk of major supply disruptions and the loss of a significant portion of its winter collection. Founder and CEO Petr Procházka shared details of the situation.

Back in April, Procházka told CzechCrunch that the company had managed to stabilize its position and return to profitability after several difficult years marked by a post-pandemic drop in demand, a co-founder's departure, and an unsuccessful hire for a new director. Business had been on the upswing in the first half of the year: margins grew by four percent, average order size increased by 14%, and the textile collection saw a jump of as much as 172%. Revenue rose 62% in the first quarter and 38% in the second.

Then came the fire at the factory of Skinners' Portuguese manufacturing partner. Five thousand pairs of shoes worth more than 15 million crowns went up in flames, along with part of the production equipment — lasts, tools, dies, soles, and Italian leather. According to Procházka, this factory accounts for roughly 75% of the company's winter sales. The team decided to hold off on announcing the incident for several weeks so as not to unsettle partners.

Procházka points to the solidarity shown by local shoe manufacturers: a sole supplier has already promised priority delivery, and an Italian leather supplier has offered a fresh batch of material. Next week, he is flying to Portugal himself to assess options for restoring production.

Insurance for the losses goes to the factory's owner, while Skinners itself mainly suffers from lost profit. "The worst part is simply not having product to sell," says Procházka.

But the trouble didn't end there: last week, a warehouse belonging to the companies Vasky and Botas burned down in Zlín, causing a building collapse that also affected several other firms, including Alpine Pro, the logistics company Supply.do, and the Tomáš Baťa Foundation. Around 1,500 pairs of Skinners shoes were stored in Vasky's distribution network — the company is still trying to determine whether this batch was affected as well.