The company's Grenoble location dedicated to footwear lent itself to an original exercise: sketch a portrait of its European customer on the basis of the most popular products amongst its customers. The results obtained show that, whatever the country, canvas sneakers enjoy the greatest success, especially through the brands Converse, Vans and Bensimon.

With 5.7 pairs of shoes purchased per year, French women seem to be characterized by their restraint, focusing their purchases on safe choices such as black ballet flats adorned with bows. The British (5.4 pairs per year) bypass straightforward classic footwear, such as moccasins, in favor of more rock n’ roll choices, with Dr. Martens largely benefiting from this trend. Perhaps not surprisingly, Italian women (5.2 pairs per year) choose mostly heels and tend to gravitate toward a more high-end look, while not forgetting about ballet flats as well.

In the Netherlands (4.7) and Belgium (3.9) women seem to share a taste for simplicity of materials and natural colors, opting for more flexible models. Spanish women (4.5) seem to prefer open shoes with a predilection for soles made of rope or cork. In neighboring Portugal (4.3) it is sandals in primary colors that enjoy the greatest popularity.

In Germany (4), where comfort and functionality are important, pumps are also quite popular. As they are in Finland (3.8), where one demonstrates one’s originality with a rock n’ roll styles. In Poland (3) color is of the essence, with styles varying widely, but always in a unique color.

Some 700 brands and 25,000 styles strong, the site Spartoo.com now operates in twenty European countries, including Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. The portal made 100 million euros in revenues in 2011.