Tod's is fast emerging as a leading luxury lifestyle brand. The firm began in the 1980s, the brainchild of a man named Diego Della Valle, who grew up in Italy but learned about casual style during several visits to the United States as a young man. Della Valle believed he could introduce a casual line of driving shoes to Italy, where weekend wear normally meant exceptionally dressy attire.

The JP Tod driving shoes were luxury items from the start and featured 133 rubber pebbles gracing the soles. Della Valle's shoes proved immensely popular with the Italian middle and upper classes, and he soon expanded Tod's into a larger luxury design enterprise. Today, Tod's manufactures and markets luggage, designer handbags, and accessories along with very well-made shoes.

Tod's is also well on its way to becoming a truly global luxury clothing manufacturer, along the lines of Hermes. The company brings in nearly $300 million annually in sales and came extremely close to acquiring Churches Shoes from Prada in 2001. The D Bag has become an especially precious commodity to in-the-know fashion seekers. Thanks to the success of the Tod's brand, Della Valle was able to start up two other brands, Fay and Hogan.

Tod's purses and products are now sold at more than a hundred stores around the globe, and luminaries like Julia Roberts and Samuel L. Jackson have helped to popularize the brand in the United States. As for Della Valle himself, he aspires to wider success. The company presently employs approximately 2,000 workers and demonstrates good growth potential.