Alpargatas Argentina

Alpargatas S.A.I.C. is an Argentine manufacturing company of clothing and footwear. Alpargatas was the leading textile and footwear manufacturer in the country, as well as a major local distributor and exporter. Originally established in 1885, since 2007 the company is a subsidiary of Brazilian Alpargatas S.A., formerly part of the industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa. In 2019, the textile division of Alpargatas was acquired by an Argentine company, establishing "Alpargatas Textil" as an independent business. The company set its headquarters in Barracas, Buenos Aires. History Juan Echegaray, a Basque Argentine immigrant, and the textile engineering background of Robert Fraser, a Scottish Argentine immigrant, created a partnership in 1883 for the manufacture of espadrilles (jute-soled canvas footwear favored by laborers for their comfort, durability and low cost). These shoes, called Alpargatas in Spanish, inspired the company's name, Sociedad Anónima Fábrica Argentina de Alpargatas, upon its incorporation in 1885. Demand for the unassuming footwear grew with the wave of immigration in Argentina during the 1880s, and by 1890, Alpargatas had established a facility in neighboring Uruguay. The fast-growing textile industry led to its diversification into yarn in 1892, and by 1907, a facility was opened in São Paulo, Brazil under the name "Sao Paulo Alpargatas".