44 Quotes by Diego Della Valle

I bought into Saks as a personal investment because, when I was a young man and went to America for the first time, it seemed to me that Saks was like a cathedral of retail. I never dreamt that I could one day be a part of it. And now I am.

I worked in the family business, which was my father's shoe making company that he had inherited from his father, and that led me to become interested in what could be achieved by a great Italian brand. That became my ambition as a young man.

The idea behind our shoes is simple: they are as light as possible, very soft and made from the finest leather we can buy. We try to make a combination of something that looks fantastic and is at the same time fantastically comfortable. This is the type of luxury people want to buy now, things that they can use every day.

Almost everyone wears rubber on their feet these days, but there was a time when it was considered cheap. Luxury shoes had leather soles, which were rigid and heavy.

Image is something you construct, while reputation starts at home. If you are able to pass on solid values to your children, then they can become citizens of the world.

Of course China is an important new market for Tod's, and of course we need to succeed commercially. But I believe the way to do that is not to aim to deliver results in the short term by thoughtless expansion, but instead to explain to the Chinese people what our brand is really about.

The boom for luxury goods is unending. There are people who never have to worry about whether they can afford something they like. In one part of the world or another there will always be someone with money to spend on luxury.

My father taught me respect for quality as well as a sense of dignity - great values as we face a world going in a different direction. I try to teach my children to stay close to the real things,

I am a liberal. I want everyone to be well.