Diario Jaén:  Last update / Monday, January 21st, 2008
2007 Province of Jaen Citizens of the Year Award,

A family-owned company with presence in more than thirty countries. Antonio Leyva’s company is 100% family-owned. The brand was created in 1915 when Antonio’s father opened a tailor’s shop. Later, Mr. Leyva went on with the tailor’s shop, started opening boutiques and a tie factory. This entrepreneur from the city of Linares says that times of crisis have help his company grow. “Is this a reward to hard work done with love?” “Yes, I think the award of Diario JAEN recognizes hard work done with love. And this is work we’ve done without making such a fuss about it. We are a family-owned company and my greatest satisfaction is to have three of my children working in executive positions. We are aware of the fact that we offer an elitist and expensive product, which is why we cannot be found in each and every store. In any case, my company has always grown in times of crisis. Sales agents know that in hard times they need to partner with a company that is well established. The key to our company’s success has been to not copy. If there is a wine with a certain flavor, it seems logical to want to come up with a similar one. However, we have our own identity and work to position ourselves in each store. We rub shoulders with brands such as Dolce&Gabbana, Armani or Burberry; therefore, in order to compete with them, we have to find our own market niche.” It was precisely one of the children who came up with the idea for the company that she now manages. There came a time when polyester and wool ties lost their charm in society in favor of silk. In other words, they were out of fashion. The factory had been established to make ties, and Leyva had to “discover” a product that could be manufactured there. That is how the great Leyva belts came about. The production headquarter can be found on the road that connects the cities of Linares and Linares-Baeza and some years ago, the facilities were expanded. The collection for women has been well received in Japan, Holland, Austria, Germany and Belgium. Furthermore, the handbags are sold in stores where you can also find products from Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci or Burberry. The belts are sold all over the world and Antonio Leyva states that his company exports to all the European Union, Mexico, Russia, the United States, Switzerland and Japan. This is a company that opts for quality and design to make his way through the complicated world of fashion. Its productive activity is aimed at leather goods and its strategic positioning has kept him safe from the crisis that some companies have suffered in the fields of textile and complements. This is thanks to the fact that Antonio Leyva has his stakes on high-end products which offer many added values and that compete with the most renowned brand names. He affirms that the key is to be original. The company was present in the Collection Premiere Moscow show where they presented their range of products to the Russian market. Also, the company has an important distributor in Japan who has been essential to entering this market with a lot of force. Meanwhile, the company continues consolidating his presence in the United States and Australia.