I

talian shoemaker Geox is expecting its recent deal with conglomerate CT Corpora '€” which is controlled by tycoon Chairul Tanjung '€” to help the company strengthen its presence in the country.

Geox, established by Italian tycoon Mario Moretti Polegato, started its partnership with CT Corpora'€™s subsidiary, PT Trans Fashion, last February. Under the agreement, Trans Fashion has an exclusive contract for distribution in Indonesia.

Polegato said his company would stick with CT Corp. for its distribution in Indonesia.

'€œWe are satisfied with our partner. It [CT Corpora] is a strong company, good reputation,'€ Polegato said on the sidelines of Forbes Global CEO Forum in Bali on Wednesday.

According to its website, CT Corp. acquired a majority stake in PT Mahagaya Perdana in 2007 and was renamed Trans Fashion.

Trans Fashion currently holds license to distribute more than 25 global brands, such as Hugo Boss, Etienne Aigner, Tods, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, Brioni, Jimmy Choo, Furla, Giorgio Armani and Mango.

Trans Fashion now has 100 branded boutique stores in major cities nationwide. It claimed that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by around 40 percent per year in the last three years, thanks to growing middle income class in Indonesia.

Geox currently has 5 shops in Indonesia, of which three are located in Jakarta, one in Makassar, South Sulawesi and another one in Bandung, West Java. Polegato said Geox expected to open two more stores in Jakarta before the end of the year.

'€œIn a short time we want to cover other territories and to have one to two stores in every big city in Indonesia,'€ Polegato said.

'€œWe work with three facilities and we produce 2 million pairs a year. We have a team of 11 people, belonging to Geox and will open a new, bigger office in Surabaya [East Java] before the end of the year,'€ Geox head of institutional relations Juan Carlos Venti said.

Venti added that the presence of Geox in Indonesia remained small compared to that in other Southeast Asian countries. However, store openings are expected to increase its weight.

Geox has 1,219 shops worldwide as of June and is planning to open seven more.

The company is suffering business setbacks due to the weak European economy. Geox worldwide sales were worth ¤386.8 million (US$508.47 million) in the first half of the year, declining by 9.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

'€œWe are facing a crisis in Europe and we are reacting to that. We are accelerating our strategy to expand our presence in emerging countries such as Indonesia, and we cannot stop or slow down. We have to be here in the market and our competitors are here too,'€ Venti said.

He added that Geox was confident that the economic situation would recover soon.

Polegato, who is named as the 17th richest person in Italy by Forbes, founded Geox in 1995. He has patented '€œbreathable shoe'€ technology, which is used by Geox'€™ products.