History

Loints of Holland · since 1918 · from Kaatsheuvel

The Loint stream in the Langstraat, between reeds and meadow

The Loint stream in the Langstraat, which gave our brand its name.

History

Five generations, one path of our own

Shoes since 1918, from Kaatsheuvel to more than thirty countries

Loints of Holland began in 1918 with shoes for feet that ordinary shoes did not fit. In the 1960s came a radical decision to design shoes in a completely different way. That decision is still the foundation of every Loints.

Read how we design See the winter collection

Since 1918Five generationsOur own lastsCustomers in more than thirty countries

Erik, Kees, Johan and Ronald Klijsen at the celebration of our 100th anniversary

Today

The same brand, sharper than ever

Since 2018 Johan and Ronald Klijsen have run Loints of Holland, still from Kaatsheuvel. Our shoes come from a network of specialised partner factories in Spain and West Turkey. We make each model where it is made best.

We send our shoes straight from the Netherlands to customers in more than thirty countries.

A focused collection

Fewer models, so that the core of Loints of Holland is central again.

Small runs

A few hundred pairs per colour, with a lot of handwork. New colours follow step by step.

Removable footbed

In the winter models you lift the footbed out and your own insole fits.

Repairable

We aim for one permanent repair partner per country. We have one in Germany and one in the Netherlands, and they accept repairs from all over Europe. France and Italy will follow.

How we got here

We did not get here by accident

It began in 1918, with one foot. And with a hundred years of choices that were not always the easy ones.

What a hundred years gives you

Four things you notice when you wear them

A history is only interesting if it does something for you. This is what more than a hundred years of making shoes means for you.

Fit as the starting point

We began with made-to-measure shoes for a high instep or for narrow, wide and flat feet. That experience is still in every last we make.

The art of leaving out

Few layers, few seams and no lining where it is not needed. What is not there cannot pinch or wear out.

High-quality leather

Thick, supple leather of high quality, so a shoe is strong without padding.

Timeless design

A shoe that still suits you in ten years. That is why most customers stay with us.

Kees Klijsen and Maria van Nunen, early twentieth century

1918

It began with the foot

Founder Kees Klijsen made shoes to measure in Kaatsheuvel for people who could not walk comfortably in ordinary shoes. Customers came back for the fit, and that has never changed: once you wear Loints, you usually want nothing else. When cheap footwear flooded the market, he chose quality and comfort over price.

From 1966

A radical decision: changing the design

In the 1960s, one Dutch shoe factory after another disappeared because of cheap imports. Many companies closed or moved their production abroad. Designer Kees Klijsen, the founder's grandson, chose differently: he changed the design of the shoe.

He knew the factory and knew where the costs lay: in materials and in handwork. Handwork had become too expensive in the Netherlands. So he designed shoes with as little work in them as possible, and used better materials to make that possible. The result was a completely different product, with a look of its own.

That is the foundation of the design of every Loints. He even studied podiatry to arrive at the most natural fit possible.

More about comfort and fit

How we design

The art of leaving out

Less is more. Simplicity is not easy: to leave something out, you have to understand it thoroughly. That is still how our designers work.

Not covering things up

Often something is added to compensate for a problem. Thick cushioning or lining makes a shoe that does not fit well still feel pleasant. We prefer to solve it at the root, with an anatomically correct foot shape.

Smart seams

A seam does not give. Where there is no seam and the material is good, such as leather, your foot gets room instead. That is why we decide very deliberately where a seam belongs.

Thick leather, no lining

High-quality leather is thick and strong enough without lining, and still stays supple. Thicker leather is generally more expensive to buy, but saves a lot of work. And without lining, less glue is needed.

No unnecessary details

Where possible, the laces run straight through slits in the leather, without metal eyelets. And a shape that falls outside the pattern becomes the tongue of the shoe. That way no leather goes to waste.

Sustainable, through quality

Sustainability came naturally

To be honest, sustainability was not the first motive back then. It was about quality and how long a shoe lasts. Our customers saw something else in it: a pure and honest product, made close to home from high-quality leather, with far less glue than other shoes.

Together with our customers and the shops we worked with, we began a sustainable journey, long before sustainability became mainstream. They challenged us, and we challenged our own production and suppliers. In doing so we became a pioneer in sustainability, at a time when it was hardly talked about. It is still deeply rooted in the company.

"I deliberately wanted to stay clear of fashion."

Kees Klijsen, designer. That is how timeless design came about: a shoe that still suits you in ten years.

The Turbo

A line of its own with its own construction

The Turbo is a line within the Loints of Holland collection, with its own construction and its own sole. Both have stayed the same since 1986.

The leather insole is first stitched to the upper. Then the sole is glued on underneath. That makes the shoe fit like a glove.

Advertisement for the Turbo from Zwartjes Schoenen in Amsterdam, 1986

Where you came across us

From Kaatsheuvel to Canada and Japan

What began in a shed found its way to shops across the Netherlands and beyond. In 2015 you could buy us in shops in 24 countries. Since 2024 we have sent shoes from the Netherlands straight to consumers in more than thirty countries.

countries with shops in 2015, from Canada and the United States to Italy, Australia and Japan.

30+

countries we have shipped to since 2024, sent from the Netherlands straight to our customers.

2010

The Gouden Koe, the trade prize for the shoe and leather industry.

Germany

Our first real export market and now our largest. In the sustainability scene, which was still small at the time, we were already well known. That is why we were allowed to supply the strictest buyers, in Germany and in France too.

Racks of lasts in the old factory in Kaatsheuvel

Milestones

What the brand has been through

1918
Made-to-measure shoes, in Kaatsheuvel.
From 1966
A completely new design direction: simpler, with less handwork and better materials.
1970s
The brand gets its name, after the Loint stream in the Langstraat.
1986
The Turbo, a line of its own with its own construction and sole.
2001
Production in Hungary. After years of working with foreign suppliers, from then on we really made outside the Netherlands.
2010
Winner of the Gouden Koe, the trade prize for the shoe and leather industry.
2015
Shops in 24 countries.
2018
Johan and Ronald Klijsen, the fifth generation, take over.
2022
Our own repair workshop in the Netherlands, as part of the Circulair Centrum.
2024
A network of specialised partner factories in Spain and Turkey instead of production in one factory of our own. From the Netherlands we ship straight to consumers, now in more than thirty countries.
2026
Sales to shops restart, in the first season in more than five countries in Europe.

2018 to now

We reinvented the company, not the product

After 2018 came two hard crises. The coronavirus crisis hit the shops that sold our shoes hard: many shoe shops had to close. Then the energy crisis pushed prices up. For a while things went a lot worse.

Johan and Ronald started our own webshop, and it became a success. But a factory of our own turned out no longer to be a viable model in this market. So we reinvented the company.

We also set up repairs differently. In 2022 we started our own repair workshop in the Netherlands, as part of the Circulair Centrum, at the place where the shoes are designed. That way repairers and designers share their knowledge and experience. People from all over Europe could send us their shoes, and it was a great success. What we learned from it we are taking into the next phase: a network of permanent repair partners.

Unlike many other brands, we deliberately chose not to change the product. We still improve it and add models, but we hold on to our DNA and our philosophy. They have been strong for so long that we still believe in them. What we did change is the company, to fit this time.

In 2026 sales to shops have also restarted. Step by step more retailers are joining: in the first season straight away in more than five countries in Europe, and with a few retailers beyond.

Digital and online

A much stronger focus on digitalisation and e-commerce, so we speak to our customers directly.

Permanent partner factories

We work closely with a number of factories, as permanent partners. We go there ourselves, give the instructions ourselves and supply all our patterns ourselves.

An ecosystem

In the past a company was more of a silo. Now we work with good people in a network, with long-term relationships. That makes us resilient and agile, so we can adapt quickly to circumstances.

Radical, twice

The third generation radically reinvented the product. The current generation has radically reshaped the company. It was a hard time, and we are proud of what it has produced.

Experience it yourself

Every foot is different

Many customers who have once worn Loints stay loyal to us. We want to live up to that every day. One model fits you like a glove, another just misses. That is why we pay a lot of attention to fit, and sending shoes back is no problem for us.

See the winter collection About Loints of Holland

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History

Five generations, one path of our own