“300,000 pairs sold each year in France, a drop in the ocean compared to the 400,000 million pairs of classic shoes”

Created nearly 75 years ago, the EB brand continues to produce climbing shoes for all levels. And is counting on the ever-increasing opening of climbing gyms to continue to prosper.

In 1950, Parisian climber Pierre Allain and shoemaker Edouard Bourdonneau created the first climbing shoe, with initial tests on the blocks of Fontainebleau, near Paris.

The registered trademark will ultimately be the initials of the craftsman alone, EB, who continues to represent a major player in the sector today.

With the proliferation of climbing gyms in recent years, “our turnover doubles every three years”, says Frédéric Tuscan, former world climbing champion, now CEO of 9A Climbing, which sells EB climbing shoes. 300,000 pairs of which are sold each year in France.

The number of rock climbers began to increase in the 1970s. “It’s the time of the emancipation of climbing from the mountain. Until now, we were confusing everything a bit,” explains Frédéric Tuscan.

The entrepreneur says he is curious to see if the Paris Games, during which climbing will be an Olympic discipline for the second time after Tokyo in 2021, will have an impact on the practice. “If it’s a success, it will make parents want to buy shoes for their children, so that they can start climbing when school starts again.”

Another challenge for the future: ecology. “Today we are at phase 1, explains Frédéric Tuscan, with 25% of materials starting to be recycled. Phase 2 will take longer. It will include the incorporation of bio-sourced materials. For example, by replacing plastics from the petrochemical industry with plastics from vegetation.”