Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Art and Sole: Fabrice Tardieu hits the ground running with his high-end, Italian sneakers.

Hand-stitched, leather sneakers made in Italy that cost $298 to $798 a pair are not for everyone, but the creations Miami designer Fabrice Tardieu calls “laid-back luxury” are popular among celebrities, including actor Will Smith, basketball player Dwyane Wade, rapper-entrepreneur Sean Combs and actress Gabrielle Union.

Tardieu launched his eponymous brand in 2014, striking out on his own after working for years with the Giorgio Armani brand in Europe and developing the upscale Bogosse shirt line from Miami with his brother. The Haiti-born, Pariseducated entrepreneur invested all he had in his brand, selling his sports cars and taking public transportation until he could develop his first limited-edition shoes, have them made in Italy and start selling.

Today, Tardieu sells thousands of pairs a year, mainly online and from his by-appointment-only showroom in Miami’s Little River district near Little Haiti. He employs six people in Miami and Italy, not counting the artisans who produce the shoes. His top seller currently: Leather runners with custom rubber soles that retail for $450, often in black or navy blue. He changes designs frequently. Shoes come in plenty of colors, including cobalt blue, red and gold, which Tardieu says reflect the light and playfulness of Miami. — Doreen Hemlock

Business Briefs for Miami-Dade:

CORAL GABLES — Fast-casual restaurant chain Pincho Factory received funding that will allow it to open 10 franchised locations in Washington, D.C. The Business Improvement District completed its Miracle Mile Streetscape project, expanding sidewalks, adding outdoor seating for restaurants, planting gardens, improving lighting and pedestrian spaces, reconfiguring parking and making free wifi available. The $24-million project was paid for by businesses and taxpayers. Benefits management company Genuine Health Group, which launched last year, acquired Doralbased risk arrangement manager Health Care Advisor Services for an undisclosed sum. The two companies’ combined annual revenue is about $90 million.

DORAL — With help from a new bottling process, microbrewery Biscayne Bay Brewing will expand outside the tri-county South Florida region with distribution in Publix from Key West to Indian River County.

ISLAMORADA — Cheeca Lodge Resort and Spa reopened after sustaining about $25 million worth of damage last September during Hurricane Irma.

HIALEAH — Montgomery, Ala.- based Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems acquired AeroKool Aviation, which specializes in repair and overhaul of aircraft valves, pumps and environmental control units, for an undisclosed price.

KEY WEST — The 106-room Havana Cabana Key West Hotel opened, occupying what used to be the Inn at Key West. Voters approved raising the allowable building height on a city-owned Stock Island property from 25 feet up to 40 feet, allowing more than 100 affordable housing units to be built on the property.

MEDLEY — Ryder System launched a short-term commercial- vehicle rental platform, COOP, which allows businesses to rent or list unused commercial vehicles via a website. Ryder also paid $120 million to buy Ohio-based ecommerce logistics company MXD Group.

MIAMI —

  • To address teachers’ inability to afford housing, the county and Miami-Dade County Public Schools have proposed building apartments for them on the grounds of a new middle school in the Brickell neighborhood, as well as possibly building a housing complex for teachers on the campus of an elementary school north of downtown.
  • Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm 500 Startups opened its first East Coast office in Miami with the help of a $300,000 grant from the city’s Downtown Development Authority and a threeyear, $1-million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 500 Startups set a goal that 40% of the companies it supports will be local, as part of the grant agreement.
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises ended its joint venture with Chinese travel company Ctrip, under which they created SkySea Cruise Line. Germany- based TUI Group, which Royal Caribbean owns half of, will purchase the line’s ship.
  • Miami International Medical Center, which recently closed its only facility, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nonprofit Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, a shareholder in the company and its largest creditor, plans to bid for the facility at auction.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY — The Florida International University College of Business and Beijingbased University of International Business and Economics created an academic partnership that will see FIU programs held on campus in China and allow students from the Chinese university to earn graduate business degrees at FIU.

SOUTH MIAMI — Medical marijuana dispenser Curaleaf expanded from South Florida with dispensaries in Fort Myers and St. Petersburg and a fulfillment center in Fort Pierce.

PLAYERS

  • Lennar CEO Stuart Miller stepped down after 21 years and became executive chairman. President Rick Beckwitt replaced him as CEO.
  • Pincho Factory hired Jayson Tipp as president; he was the chief development officer for Papa Murphy’s International.
  • Wealth management firm Insigneo hired Citi Private Bank executive Daniel de Ontanon as CEO.
  • Nikki Beach Worldwide promoted Lucia Penrod to CEO. Kevin Wallace was promoted to president of Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts Asia.
  • Nick Mendez replaced Alejandro Badia, the company’s founder, as CEO of urgent-care provider OrthoNow. Although the company is based in Doral, Mendez will be based in Nashville.

 

See other stories from Florida Trend's June issue.

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