MILAN — Italian brand Velasca continues to expand its retail and online business, but is also starting to explore the potential of wholesale distribution as its total look collections gain steam with consumers.
Established in Milan in 2013 as a direct-to-consumer men’s footwear brand by Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio, Velasca has been ramping up its offer with a ready-to-wear line and women’s footwear.
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“We are looking to plant a flag in markets where we are not present yet, and working with third parties has several upsides: it helps us be less self-referential, contributes to further our credibility, and having accessibility to a clients’ database is stimulating,” said Sebastio. “It can help profile our competitors and contributes to our shift to branding from pure product.”
The young entrepreneur also admitted there is a financial advantage, since Velasca has so far channeled its investments into directly operated stores, which have grown to total 30. “Testing franchising with our Velasca look but operated by partners that have local experience is a new alternative for us,” he said.
The economy hasn’t dampened the growth of the company, which is expected to close 2025 with sales of 27 million euros, up 15 percent on 2024. This compares with revenues of 13.5 million euros in 2021. Revenues in the latest quarter rose 33 percent, Sebastio added.
Velasca has opened 10 stores in the past 12 months, in cities from Verona, Padova and Forte dei Marmi to Copenhagen and Munich. It also opened a second store in New York and a second unit in Paris.
“Our business is currently equally split between retail and our online sales, so we think that as the collections evolve, we could add a new block to our structure with the wholesale channel,” said Sebastio.
This also stems for seeing good feedback from a first experience with leading Istanbul-based retailer Boyner and its subsidiary Horizon. “We’ve seen great interest in Velasca for its Italian quality and authenticity at the right price. Consumers are increasingly smarter and they can see the value in our products, which also have that effortless touch of Milanese flair that makes a difference,” said Sebastio proudly. He added that Velasca has already been available at Rinascente in Milan for the past two years.
Velasca has been setting up a showroom on the floor below its office in Milan and will start scheduling appointments with wholesalers in November.
“We feel we would be amiss if we didn’t also explore this channel,” said Sebastio, citing for context a single order from Turkey for 200,000 euros.
Velasca has two private equity investors, P101 and Milano Investment Partners. “They see the strong potential of the brand,” and are not looking for a way out at the moment, Sebastio said, responding to a question about a potential exit given their investment has already spanned a decade.
The founders, whose background is in corporate finance, debt restructuring and private banking, together own one-third of the company.
Sebastio supervises retail, finance and an in-house team of three designers for product consistency, as the brand was first inspired by his own and his father’s wardrobe. Casati is more focused on marketing, communication, operations and logistics.
After Italy, France and the U.S. are “the most receptive” markets, said Sebastio. After the NoLIta store, the unit on Madison Avenue, which carries Velasca’s total product range and opened last December, “is already performing at break-even,” said Sebastio, underscoring the high average ticket of between $8,000 and $10,000 and “incredible purchasing power” of that clientele, “which is discerning but open to advice. They buy a lot for events, like for the evening before a wedding, for example.”
He acknowledged the “turbulence” hitting department stores in the U.S., but Velasca is sticking to its “step-by-step” strategy and is eyeing further expansion in North America and Canada. The Middle East and Northern Europe are also areas with potential for Velasca.
While shoes continue to account for 70 percent of sales, the last 10 stores opened have been carrying total looks and Sebastio said he has seen steady growth in the women’s category. Case in point, Velasca converted a store in Paris in Saint-Germain-des-Prés into a womenswear boutique. A men’s store is located in the La Madeleine area.
Given the product expansion, the new stores are becoming larger. “We started with the concept of bottega [workshop] so the size spanned between 324 and 648 square feet, but now we eye spaces ranging between 1,000 to 1,500 square feet,” Sebastio said.
Born as a brand with the mission of connecting Italian artisans with global consumers, products are all made in Italy, in particular footwear in Montegranaro, in the Marche region, a shoe manufacturing hub. Likewise, garments are produced in a region specialized in each category, such as knits in Emilia, shirts in Apulia, jackets and outerwear in Veneto, and pants in Campania. Velasca works with leading producers, employing cashmere from Filati Biagioli Modesto and fabrics from Thomas Mason for its shirts. Sebastio said that belts, wallets and weekend bags have also been selling well.
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