The Measure of Quality

Half a century ago, Sebastian Blanco of Spain began handcrafting
Magnanni footwear from the world’s finest leathers.

His original standards and vision have never changed.

Each shoe design is fully calfskin lined with padded sock linings
for additional cushioning.

All designs feature American lasts and flexible insoles
for the ultimate comfort and fit.

Today, his son Pascual and four grandsons oversee more than
a hundred artisans working in a state-of-the-art facility
in Almansa, Spain.

Three Generations of unstinting quality have sparked a global
reputation and discreet distribution throughout Europe
and the United States.

History

Sebastian Blanco Aldomar started his first job in a shoe factory at the age of twelve. After that moment, his entire life was dedicated to crafting shoes in the small town of Almansa, Spain, where crafting shoes is a way of life.

Sebastian worked in shoe factories as prestigious as Calzados Coloma (where the first glued shoe was ever manufactured), Calzados Giron, Calzados Vera, and Calzados Aldomar (where Sebastian worked as General Manager). His resume and knowledge of shoe making were impeccable. In 1954, at the age of 44, Sebastian started his own shoe factory with five workers. The small factory, located in the first floor of a house, did very well, and in October of 1956 Blanco Y Garcia, S.L. was born.

Blanco Y Garcia, S.L., located in a 2000 square meters facility, was a partnership between Sebastian Blanco Aldomar and Antonio Garcia Pastor. Antonio was a salesman who traveled the North of Spain. His trips were so intense that he spent the entire winter with his customers due to the weather conditions and to the lack of transportation. But he was successful: his first order, from Maximino Junquera from Gijon was for 1107 pairs of shoes! Antonio’s great personal relationships with his customers and the high quality product that Sebastian manufactured created a winning team. Shoes were produced and registered under the trademark “Blangar”.

Pascual Blanco Martinez, Sebastian's son, was a student of shoe pattern and design. At the age of sixteen, once his studies were finished, he became the head designer of Blanco Y Garcia. Pascual started to change the orientation of the company to more elegant shoe styles, and labeled his new luxurious line of shoes “MAGNANNI”.

Up to the 1980's, Blanco y Garcia, S.L. had up to 150 full time craftsmen in various departments: cutting, stitching, shoe mounting, etc.. In January of 1988, forced by global economic conditions and stiff competition in the shoe industry, we were compelled to restructure the entire company.

The company relocated to a new facility of 2,500 square meters in Almansa's Industrial Park. The new company was named MAGNANNI, S.L. Pascual's main focus has always been to manufacture a high quality product with the latest contemporary designs for a reasonable price. The immediate success of MAGNANNI, S.L. made it possible for the company to open new distribution channels throughout Europe. In 1989 Miguel Blanco Bonete, one of Pascual's six children, entered the family business. Miguel's task was to learn the manufacturing process as well as to travel the European markets.

In 1994, Sebastian and Pascual Blanco Bonete (two more of Pascual's six children), after finishing their studies in the United States, entered the family business with the creation of MAGNANNI To better serve the U.S. market, Pascual and Sebastian moved the offices to Ohio, where friends and family members helped them to establish the US branch of the business. Since then, MAGNANNI has been growing successfully thanks to the quality and service that the Blanco family has delivered to its customers. At the present time MAGNANNI has more than 100 employees. The shoes are still handmade in Almansa, by craftsmen with resumes as impeccable as that of Sebastian Blanco Aldomar. We have exclusive sales forces in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Hong Kong and the U.S.A. Our customers throughout the world include El Corte Ingles from Spain, Heyraud from France, Salamander Exclusive Stores from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Russia, Lagerson from Sweden, Mourides from Greece, and Battaglia from the U.S.