Website Closers® presents a prominent designer of stylish and specialized Men’s and Women’s Footwear & Apparel that has become a leader in this niche space in its native Italy. With plans underway to expand into a line of women’s footwear and clothing and a thriving marketing campaign that focuses on the most high-demand products, the company’s Net Profit Growth skyrocketed in 2023, and a buyer inherits a business with a profitable formula that can easily be replicated in other counties, the United States included.
The brand has also started to shift sales into neighboring countries in Europe, so the new owner can immediately move in and carry that expansion to new avenues of growth. The new owner will also take hold of a company that has trusted relationships with its suppliers, who stay busy manufacturing 6,000+ available SKUs that have brought in highly enthusiastic reviews from their fast-growing customer base. The company mainly focuses on its top 350 products.
A fast-rising 21% of those customers are now making repeat purchases, and the company is shipping 150+ orders a day. Because those trademarked products are manufactured directly for them, those SKUs can’t be sold by other retailers or eCommerce sites without the company’s permission, giving them an important advantage over competitors in this lucrative field.
This is a significant investment opportunity. Since the brand’s operations are easy to replicate in other nations and benefit from a proven marketing campaign boosting customer engagement, the new owner can focus on the many scale opportunities available to this company, including scaling their most profitable items and expanding onto additional sales channels such as Amazon and Etsy.
Business Broker Takeaway
Our analysis of this business revealed some exciting opportunities for a buyer looking for an online company that markets proprietary products, is enjoying soaring profits in an evergreen and profitable vertical, and has the right operations in place for fast growth. We anticipate buyers will recognize that value for 3 important reasons:
- Exceptional Operational Setup. The company consistently refines its systems, which now include custom software that has enabled the team to continuously turn out high-end luxury designs at affordable prices, Their custom software has increased operational efficiency, and this business has an experienced team in place to handle 99% of daily operations, from an inventory manager to graphic designers and a large customer service team. This has enabled the company to enjoy not just a rising Repeat Customer Rate but also to bolster customer service and to keep returns to a low of 2.3%, even as they offer 100-day money-back guarantees. Their customer satisfaction rate is also measured by the large number of 5-star reviews they maintain.
- Unique SKUs. The company has grown to 6,000+ SKUs, and these products are not available in local shops or other eCommerce stores. Having so many specialized products available at a $69 Average Order Value has enabled the company to achieve explosive growth in the past few years, with Net Profits skyrocketing by 300% in 2022 and 400% in 2023. A major reason is how stylishly designed their apparel is, which their customers have come to love. With low competition, the company has quickly become a leader within this niche field, and its operations enable the company to scale multiple tens of different products at the same time. With an appealing price point on their SKUs and a reputation for fast shipping, the company has grown quickly in a short period.
- Growth Opportunities: An expansion into a line of Women’s Shoes and Clothing is likely to be an enormously profitable shift for the company, and so is an expansion into new countries. The company is now setting up warehouses in countries outside of Italy to provide fast shipping throughout other parts of Europe. The company has also demonstrated a skill for focusing its marketing on products that are in highest demand. The company estimates that 60% of its profits come from its top 20 SKUs and the company has done well running PPC ad campaigns to boost interest in their products and drive sales higher. This is another clear opportunity to continue scaling the business in the future.
The Company
This Italian fashion brand was launched nearly three years ago to sell mid-ticket Shoes and Clothing for middle-income men. The company has plenty of different bestsellers and is not reliant on just a few hero products.
As sales have gotten stronger, the company has asked its suppliers to produce sizes not usually available on the market, allowing them to attract more buyers and increase their conversion rates. The company also continues to produce new molds containing its logo, keeping its existing customer base excited about what new items are being rolled out. The company is branding all its top-selling items.
Their sales come in consistently throughout the year, except for summer or winter products that sell best during those specific seasons. This has given the company very stable profits during the year as they work to boost upsells and grow their customer base.
The company is known as well for offering very specific products that are quickly shipped from an Italian warehouse to be delivered in as little as 24 hours, and then providing first-rate post-purchase service. They now have nearly 70,000 customers, mainly men looking to buy items that look like luxury brands, but without the high costs.
Operations & Marketing
This company has an experienced team in place that includes 16 full-time employees and three part-time workers who manage customer service, website development, email marketing, graphic design, inventory, and data entry. The company is so well maintained that the current owner works just 4 hours per week, focusing mainly on smaller tasks such as managing PPC ad campaigns.
Products are shipped to their 3PL partner, with 41,100+ shipments now being made annually. The company uses its custom-built software to automatically track sales and check inventory levels.
With thousands of SKUs available, the company always maintains at least $400,000+ worth of inventory to keep up with demand.
To market their products, the company runs PPC ads on Google, Facebook, and TikTok, while boosting organic traffic through social media marketing on Facebook (where they maintain 4,800+ followers) and email marketing to a whopping 67,000+ subscribers. This has boosted the company’s organic traffic considerably and given them 3 million unique monthly visitors since they first launched.
A buyer has significant advantages when acquiring this company. Operations and systems are fully set up, recurring revenues are strong, and the number of repeat customers is on the increase. The company’s team handles 99% of the daily workload, freeing up the new owner to focus on scaling this business.
The fact that this Footwear & Apparel company has grown so quickly in less than 3 years demonstrates they have the right products that customers are looking for and can replicate their success in Italy across the globe.
