Warby Parker has made a name for itself, first in the US and now globally, as a purveyor of tailor-made glasses. Vertically integration – where a company both makes and sells something – has become a hot property and it’s supercharged by the efficiencies brought about via technology platforms. Now, Scarosso (based out of Berlin) which makes and sells handcrafted Italian shoes online, has attracted significant investment because of this model.
It’s raised $11 million in a Series B financing led by NEO Investment Partners, DN Capital and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft to grow internationally.
It’s not hard to see why. Scarosso claims it’s experienced growth of over 300% in 2013 alone. And now the brand has wooed several leading figures from the fashion industry to join the Scarosso team. Robert Polet, former CEO of GUCCI Group and international model Johannes Huebl have both now joined as advisors.
Founded by Moritz Offeney and Marco Reiter in 2010, Scarosso cuts out the middleman and deals directly with producers and customers, which makes its pricing far more competitive than normal high quality shoes.
“We are vertically integrated and selling our products directly to our consumers via our e-commerce platform and our 6 retail stores. By cutting out the wholesale people and distributing the products directly to our consumers we can cut out the wholesale margin and deliver luxury products on half the price, compared to our competitors. Our manufacturers are producing for the worlds biggest luxury brands and are all based in Italy,” says Marco Reiter.
Sara Ferrero, Partner at Neo Investments commented: “Scarosso innovates on multiple dimensions – this business is multi-channel, vertically integrated, with an incredibly compelling value proposition and state-of-the art customer service.”
It’s competitors include Jack Erwin, Tods, Crocket & Jones and Church’s. In the US it would notionally compete with Jack Erwin which has been recently financed.
The ready-to-wear, bespoke and customised designs are available online as well as at shops in city locations including, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg & Vienna. It sources its leather from tanneries traditionally located in the South of France and Italy.