Surf City News

Pierside Gallery Gone – Havaianas are In the House in Huntington Beach

Photo: Brazilian clerk makes Havaianas shoes for an Italian customer in Huntington Beach, California.

“Why did you pick Huntington Beach? ” asked a Havaianas shopper, Barbara Steinberg from Sacramento. The Brazilian clerk who customized a pair of shoes for the first-time buyer said that Surf City provided the perfect place with  year-round warm climate to launch a brand that has been in existence in Brazil for over 40 years–long before the employee was born. The  shoes are sold in Nordstrom and other department stores, but Huntington Beach became part of Havaianas company timeline, making history as the first store to open in the U.S. in June 2010. Located in Pierside Pavilion at 300 Main Street next to Huntington Surf & Sport, Huntington Beach’s only downtown art gallery has been replaced and the management of the new shop says sales are exceeding expectations.   

Designed after the Japanese Zori sandal, these 100% rubber made shoes include the rice-grain pattern soles. Lightweight, durable and comfortable, nearly every Brazilian has at least one pair of Havaianas. Used by the Brazilian government to control inflation just like rice & beans, over 80 million pairs sold in 1980, and their popularity grew as creative new colors and styles were introduced to a fashion minded audience.  By 2000, the shoes were sold in over 60 countries.

On a busy summer weekend shoppers lined up to purchase the shoes that can be customized with mix & match soles and add-0n charms ranging from your initials to shiny grommets. If the shoes are internationally-known, then the audience in Huntington Beach is the perfect match for this product. Two clerks from Brazil, one from Indianapolis, and customers from Massachusetts, Italy, Germany, Sacramento, Newport Beach and San Diego, filled the shop on a busy Sunday afternoon.

“Can we get one in Mid-town (Sacramento)?” asked Steinberg, who is convinced the store would do well there.  “I seldom buy things, but this really caught my eye and I just couldn’t pass these up,” she said.