Today, we would like to share with you a success we are truly proud of. Our hard work and dedication brought us into one of the most-read magazines in the Czech Republic – @forbescesko. Maybe the article will inspire some of you and help you overcome your fear of starting your own business, because the best ideas are often born in a garage.
Just like Steve Jobs started in a garage. And although his business and the story of Apple’s founder cannot be compared, without this cliché parallel Radek Lošák would not be producing socks today for major Czech companies and global brands.
In recent years, clients such as the American headquarters of Google, organizers of Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia, or some of the largest Czech employers like Škoda Auto, ČEZ, and Česká spořitelna have ordered socks from his factory in Hořovice. They have also been worn by leading football clubs like Sparta Prague and Sigma Olomouc or by members of the Czech national basketball team.
“The world of socks has become a passion for me,” says Radek Lošák. “I love that I started from zero and can see every year how both I and my company are improving.”
The products, which bring in around 10 million CZK annually, were long sold under the fitting name Výroba ponožek (Sock Production). But with the ambition to expand abroad came the need for a strong international brand, which recently led to renaming the company Radisox.
“We now want to focus on larger-scale sock production, invent new functional technologies, and beyond that, we would also like to introduce sales and servicing of knitting machines worldwide,” explains the 35-year-old entrepreneur.
Still, given rising prices of materials, fuel, energy, shortage of labor, and the war in Ukraine, he emphasizes that his main goal is to keep the team together – the team that keeps this Czech craft alive. A year-on-year growth of 20% would be satisfactory this year.
“So I thought – why not?” recalls Lošák. “But before Christmas the orders became so large that suppliers couldn’t keep up. That was when I decided to buy my first knitting machine so I could deliver everything on time.”
He started production in a garage, learning the craft and operation of the machine entirely on his own. All the more symbolic it felt when one of his first orders came from the Prague Apple Museum – custom knee-highs with the famous multicolored bitten apple logo.
“I thought it must be fate. After all, Apple also started in a garage just like me,” he smiles. “It gave me motivation and confirmed I was on the right path.”
The true breakthrough came about a year later, when he entered a tender for 25,000 pairs of socks for Pepsi’s Czech and Slovak branches. Three days before the deadline, the carrier admitted the shipment had been lost. “In the end, I found it in their warehouse, delivered it personally, and that success gave me another boost,” he recalls.
Year after year, demand for Lošák’s socks has grown – not only as gifts or employee wear but also for functionality. Clients today care more than ever about materials and performance, proving that socks are no longer just a neglected clothing accessory.
The most requested material is polyamide for its durability and breathability. Silk is also popular thanks to its thermal properties – warm in winter, cool in summer, odor-resistant, and antibacterial.
In addition, Radisox develops its own materials and technologies, such as supportive sports socks for better stability and performance during rapid movement, or special “wellness socks” providing a spa-like feeling for the feet.
“We are trying to show people that specific materials and sock types are suited for different activities – whether sports, hiking, healthcare, or office work,” says Lošák. “Feet are under heavy strain, so it’s crucial to care for them and provide maximum comfort – not only with pedicures or massages, but with proper socks.”
He adds with determination: one day, he would like to make Radisox Europe’s number one in technological sock production.
