Geox is the result of one good idea. In the early 1990s after attending a wine convention in Reno, I was walking in the Nevada desert and I was suffering from perspiration on my feet because I wore trainers with rubber soles. So I used a pocket knife to cut holes in the soles and instantly realised that there was ventilation.

On my return to Italy, I set out to put together and patent the technology. I introduced a special in-sole, which is waterproof and breathable at the same time because it is made with a million small channels that are 700 times smaller than a drop of water.

I am not an engineer, but a winemaker. My family has been in the wine business for three generations and is one of the famous wine families in Italy.

I didn't want to manufacture shoes. My instinct was to continue working in the family business and to find a partner to buy the idea for the shoes. I offered the product to major players in the footwear industry, but unfortunately nobody believed in me. Today I sell shoes in 68 countries.

Ninety per cent of people wear rubber soles while 10 per cent wear leather soles, but rubber soles cause a hygiene problem because feet can't breathe in them. It was incredible these people couldn't see the potential of my idea. In the end, I founded Geox in Italy and began producing shoes.

The company started in 1994 with five young people from my village and today there are 30,000 employees in our organisation worldwide. We are the number one shoe company in Italy and we are second in the international market for casual-lifestyle footwear behind Clarks. Last year alone we sold 23 million pairs.

When I tried to turn my idea into reality and I was so unlucky, I talked with my mother and she supported me. She encouraged me to pursue my idea even if it meant leaving the family business.

If you want success in the wine business you need to have a long history, but with shoes it's different because there is a connection with fashion. Every season you have to introduce a new model, a new design or a new line.

We have now launched breathable jackets and sports shoes. We have introduced holes into the shoulder space of the jackets, just like the soles in the shoes, and they are completely breathable, high-quality, Italian fashion jackets. Geox is popular in Italy, France and the rest of Europe, but we started late in the UK. We have two shops in London.

The important thing in an economic crisis is to relax, continue to innovate and be creative. Investing in research and development is fundamental for Geox. The secret behind our success is technology combined with Italian fashion.

Consumers are now afraid to spend money and it is a problem because nobody knows when this crisis will be over. But the problem was not in 2008—it is 2009 that will be difficult for the retail sector across the world.