Marelbo – A family business with Bucovina tradition

It all started in 1984, with the first pair of shoes. Aurel Bobu, the founder of the company, remembers his first steps in a shoemaking workshop, which he owes to his father:

“In the 1980s, my father asked a local shoemaker friend to take me on as an apprentice. I made my mother’s first pair of shoes. If I was ever going to be ashamed, at least in front of her. They were magnificent.” With a microporous sole, a white row and a black row… When he saw me making his shoes, he was so happy that he told all his neighbors and friends. Then, the neighbors in the area realized that I could make quality shoes, and the orders started flowing in. After about a year, the news spread throughout the municipality that I was a good craftsman and that I made quality shoes. Since I could no longer cope with the demand, I started hiring apprentices to fulfill all the orders. By the time of the revolution, I had trained another 50 shoemakers. In 1994, I founded Marelbo. Since then, my passion has grown, and the business has taken on a new dimension. Ten years later, the family business is thriving, the orders are flowing in, and the name “Marelbo” is mentioned for the first time in Vicovu de Sus. Since 1994, Marelbo has continued to grow, improve its technology and train hundreds of employees. In 2000, the first Marelbo store opened, offering its own products, employees and concept. After the opening of this first store, Marelbo expanded its network to 60 company-owned stores. Marelbo products are now available in almost all regions of Romania.

Our own network of stores allows us to offer our customers genuine leather footwear from the Vicovu de Sus factory at affordable prices.

In 2026, Marelbo opened its online store in Ireland: marelbo.ie