Shoemaker relies on sex appeal, not bank credit.

The article reports on Emyco International Corp., a Mexican shoemaker with more than 80-year history and who has sold 300 million pairs of shoes in 2008. It was founded in 1926 by Felipe Martinez, who took advantage of abundant leather supplies and skilled metal craftsmen in the central Mexican city of Leon to lay the foundations of the country's shoe manufacturing industry. His son, also named Felipe Martinez, joined the firm fresh out of university in 1964 with big plans of his own.