A group of friends from Madrid decided seven years ago to start a shoe company. They did what anyone in their position would do: They searched for how to make shoes.
The four friends pooled their savings and founded Pompeii Brands, named after a song one of the team was learning on the guitar at the time. Pompeii has a lineup of a dozen styles, five shops across Spain, and sales this year of 4 million. We spoke with the co-founder and now chief executive officer about Pompeii. The interview has been edited to make it clearer.
What made you want to start a business?
We were designing sweatshirts and T-shirts, but we realized that finding room in people's closets would be difficult, so we switched to shoes. It was more difficult to make them, but also more special.
How much did you size up the market?
Most people own a few shirts and sweatshirts, but not many shoes. We thought our sneakers could be a bridge between smart and casual. We wanted them to be distinctive because our budget was too tight. And it worked.
They are made around Elche, a town in southeastern Spain. Why there?
There are two major shoe-making regions in Spain. We designed our first sample, which is still part of our collection, and pitched it to factories in Elche because it was warm there, and we could also go to the beach. Nine shoe factories said no, but one finally accepted.
What has social media done to build your brand?
We spent 80% of our initial budget to make 349 pairs, and the rest went to open a pop-up store in Madrid, so social media was the only way to reach potential buyers. We had 10,000 followers before we started selling shoes. The first shoes were numbered 1 to 349. People spread the word because they loved it. We sold out on the first weekend.
You hired executives from established companies as your business grew. Is that done?
It was a good decision, but not always well. Sometimes we didn't hire the right person and we were too young to do it properly. You will never learn how to do it if you don't do it at all.
In the Pandemic, you had to lay off your entire workforce. What did that feel like?
It made me feel powerless, angry, and I had to think about how much I wanted to make this work. I cried when I wrote a letter to myself. I did it to calm down and explain how bad we were. We decided to publish it. We are going to exceed the levels of the previous year because we have now restored our entire staff.
Did you add clothing to the mix?
We started with sneakers, but our ultimate goal was to create a fashion brand. We are having fun.
You will let people return purchases for a year. Isn't that bad for profits?
Even if customers have to pay more for it, it is worth it. 98% of our shipments get to buyers in 24 hours or less, thanks to our direct warehouse management. People have a year to return them, but we believe they won't need to do it. We want people to come back. Customers are honest. If we can offer a premium service to the others, I will be happy.
What are the next steps?
Our revenue comes from Spain, Portugal, and the rest of Europe, but we are also doing well in the U.K. and France. Our goal is to create a global brand, and marketplaces such as Zalando are key to that. We want to open shops in other European countries within five years and keep penetrating current markets through the web.
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