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The Ciciban Story
The history of shoemaking in the small town of Miren, located near the border between Slovenia and Italy, goes back to 1908, when a local priest, Ivan Rojc, formed the Adrija Shoemaker Cooperative. Before its dissolution at the beginning of WWII, the cooperative manufactured shoes and sold them within a retail network comprising 20 stores in the greater Primorska region in Slovenia, and the Friuli region in Italy. 1922 marks the beginning of the Petejan family’s shoemaking tradition, whose founder, Ivan Petejan, was a shoemaker. Ivan Petejan and some twenty assistants used to supply shoe stores in the greater Primorska region and the Friuli region – until WWII, when the workshop was burnt down.
In 1947, a shoe factory named Jadran-Ciciban was established on the premises of the old workshop. Later, only the name Ciciban was retained, under which the factory made children's shoes, being the number-one manufacturer in the former Yugoslavia for decades.
In June 1953, Pavel Petejan, the son of Ivan, stepped into his father's shoes and continued the Petejan’s family tradition.
In 1954, he started to manufacture children’s shoes according to individual customer requests.
In 1957, he employed the first two assistants, and soon another three – thus reaching the then-prescribed maximum of five employees per craftsman.
By 1960, he employed 10 assistants and produced some 100 pairs a year. In addition to his own store, Pavel used to supply others as well, such as Galant Ljubljana, Nama, Alpina and So?a Koper.
In 1975, Pavel had to fire five of his assistants for political reasons. Encouraged by the orthopaedic specialist Dr. Marjan Korsi? from Nova Gorica, he focused on the manufacture of orthopaedic shoes for children and adults. The custom-made shoes for adults were designed to correct anomalies, and had orthotics (shoe inserts), built-up heels, etc. Pavel expanded his market to cover all of Slovenia, as well as Croatia – from the Istra peninsula to the town of Dubrovnik.
In 1984, Pavel retired for health reasons, and left it to his three sons to continue the shoemaking tradition of the Petejan family. The sons expanded the family business, known for high-quality shoes for children and adults – remaining however under their father’s vigilant eyes.
On 20 March 1995, the Petejan family acquired the premises of the by-then bankrupt Ciciban company. This acquisition was made mainly in order to increase production capacities, required in view of ever-growing demand. The family business thus gathered momentum, particularly after it had protected anew, and re-launched the Ciciban brand name. Thus was born the family company, managed by the three sons of Pavel Petejan and their wifes, with the whip however being held by PAVEL PETEJAN. He was the one to set the main focus of the new company by pronouncing the now-famous words: “We shall be the manufacturer of mercedesses for liitle feet.”
In 2000, the Petejan family acquired two other businesses: the bankrupt Bor Dolenjske toplice, and an Alpina's plant located in Kal nad Kanalom, thus further increasing production capacity.
In 2003, Pavel Petejan celebrated the 50th anniversary of his family business.