Protect and decorate everyone’s feet. This is the noble mission assumed by the Sanjoanense shoe factory, Bruno Bernardo, an establishment with an address on Rua da Liberdade, led by the brothers Bruno and Bernardo, who have established themselves as a reference store in the region. From Mozambique – a country where the parents still reside – they have brought cultural references and professional guidance. There, first the parent and then the children, discovered the love for shoes.
Today they have 5 stores on the ground and a fruitful synergy between them and Bruno Bernardo, with an exchange of products and, above all, influences. In 2012, when they arrived in Portugal and even without having the future defined, they knew that the shoes would not be confined to the past. Initially, the plan would go through the implementation of an online store; later, after identifying a manifest gap in the existence of mid-high-end shoe stores, they decided to open a physical space, right in the heart of S. João da Madeira. The inauguration was marked by the abundant affluence, with about 300 people to attend the call. The facebook page, the website and the own brand – Bruber – were naturally, spontaneously concerted with the evolution of the store. The partnerships were being established – only and exclusively – with factories in San Juan, in a clear recognition of the quality employed in the production of shoes in the city. Between the nostalgia of the roots and the resilience that built this dream in the form of a shoe store, Bruno Silva confided that in Mozambique ‘they like the classic’; here, he adds, ‘sells more women’s shoes.’
The store is exquisitely well decorated and endowed with ample space, with shelves containing shoes relegated to the side ends of it. Breathe well and put on even better. With the cheapest shoes around 60 €, Bruno Bernardo stands out for the material of his shoes: it is impossible to find pairs that do not have skin in their composition, singularity that supports the presence of generally higher prices. Nothing that distances the usual customers, aware of the latent philosophy in Bruno Bernardo’s modus operandi: quality over quantity, in the incessant search of the pair par excellence.