Roller skates Roller skates Roller skates are shoes, or bindings that fit onto shoes, that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad" style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car. While the first reported use of roller skates was on a London stage in 1743, the first patented roller skate was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin. His roller skate wasn't much more than an ice
Brantano Footwear Brantano Footwear Brantano Footwear was a European chain of retail stores specialising in footwear for men, women and children, that was founded in Belgium. It went into administration in March 2017. The stores closed in June 2017 with the loss of over 900 jobs. The company originated from a small factory run by André Brantegem and his brother in Lede, East Flanders. The Brantegem brothers were sons of a cobbler. They specialised in ladies' shoes which they sold to wholesalers and retailers in Belgium. Eventually the brothers separated and in 1962 André initiated a retail outlet at the factory. This