In 1940 Jan Johannes Smit started a shoe store at Elandsgracht 98. Back then, it was a place where you could buy handmade shoes and also have your shoes repaired. Most of the time, the repairs were done on the spot by Smit himself. It was also one of the first stores in Amsterdam who developed women shoes. In 1968 Johan and Henny Cruijff joined and the name of the store was changed into Smit-Cruyff. From that moment it became a real sports store. The other locations -in Leidsestraat, on Middenweg, and the ones in Purmerend, Zaandam and Oegstgeest -have closed over the years. The store on Elandsgracht still exists and is now run by Rob van der Straeten and Guno Reingoud, who took over the business from Henny Cruijff in 1998.
Smit-Cruyff is the first store in The Netherlands who introduced and sold major international sports brands like Adidas, Nike and Puma, at a time when those brands were still barely known. Nowadays, Adidas and Nike sometimes don't even offer new collections to the store as they prefer to sell online.

The book is made in collaboration with Rob van der Straeten and Guno Reingoud. This edition includes additional loose 10x15 cm printed photographs, because Rob kept on finding new photographs of the store, even after the book was printed.
50 percent of the profits will go to Smit-Cruyff.