Shoes.be is back — and it's better than ever

The beloved Belgian footwear platform, founded in 2000 by artist and shoe designer Bert Eelen, has been relaunched with a bold new mission: to put every Belgian shoe shop and cobbler on the map.

From city centre to shoe boutique — Shoes.be connects local expertise with the digital world.

More than two decades ago, Belgian artist and former shoe designer Bert Eelen had a simple but powerful idea: create a single place on the internet where anyone in Belgium could find the best local shoe shops and repair specialists. That vision became Shoes.be, launched in 2000 and one of the very first niche retail directories in the Belgian digital landscape.

Now, after a comprehensive renewal, Shoes.be is relaunching with a fresh platform built for 2026. The core DNA remains unchanged: this is a place for Belgian shoe shops and shoe repair craftspeople, not a marketplace that competes with them. Every shop and atelier can manage its own listing, update its stock, brands and opening hours, and present itself exactly as it wishes.

"Good shoes deserve good people to sell them — and every Belgian neighbourhood has someone like that."

Quality leather shoes: craftsmanship that deserves a platform.

For shoe brands, the platform now offers banner advertising directly embedded in a highly targeted context — visitors to Shoes.be are already thinking about footwear. It is, arguably, the most relevant advertising space in Belgian retail.

Independent shoe shops are the heart of Belgian retail culture.

Whether you're looking for a specialist running shop in Ghent, a quality leather repair atelier in Liège, or a family-owned boutique in Bruges that has been fitting shoes for three generations, Shoes.be is your starting point. Local expertise, curated listings, zero compromise