Successful eCommerce case: The Story of Paloma Wool

It is clear that we all have models and a previous story about which, in one way or another, we build our work projects. In the case of Paloma Lanna, we can say that this background comes directly from their genes. 

In the 80´s Miguel Lanna and Paloma Santaolalla, Paloma Lanna´s parents , founded a brand called Globe that had an almost immediate success. It was the time when national fashion market started to take off with companies like Mango or Desigual struggling for their slice of the cake with Zara, which was the most consolidated. 

Globe did not work as expected. As their own creators recognize, in part, due to a management that was not as efficient as it should have been. This "failure" served as the grounds for a new company that was born with a diametrically different vocation: Nice things Paloma S. 

We can say that, Globe moves from a broad-spectrum brand like Globe to a much more refined concept. This is about fashion and accessories exclusively for women in which the inspiration of Paloma Santaolalla is absolutely experiential (travel, books, exhibitions...), the originality of its prints made by the design team and sustainability in the choice of fabrics are the other two pillars of the brand. 

It was April 2014 when Paloma decided to start developing a very personal project. She did not set herself apart from Nice Things S, in fact, she is still a very important part of the company, what happens is that that drive to do something own that has any entrepreneur started to be felt. Also the need for artistic expression inherent in her personality. 

While  the ascendant and her mother´s vision marked the line of the collections, in Paloma Wool the models are own. Taking as a starting point what he has learned during these years, she starts to give life to her own clothes. Paloma Lanna's inspiration comes from her own personal universe, from the passion for analogue photography, illustration, universal artists like Matisse and young promises. 

The first day her online store was active, visits from 69 different countries were received and this is something that caused a huge impact as a creator and as an entrepreneur. 

Although the main reason why Paloma Wool does not have physical stores is simply a matter of economic efficiency, it is sensed that surely she does not need to have a retail network in the style of the family brand. 

This agile structure raised from the digital prism, makes it possible to expand internationally with much more ease and, as we said, this has been a priority from the beginning or at least has come because of the nature of the product.
 

Another factor that indirectly favors internationalization is that, as it is a native eCommerce business, it has been able to maintain reasonable margins without affecting to clients with other costs. Thanks to this, their products maintain acompetitive price in other markets despite logistic costs. 

Paloma is a woman committed to sustainability, activist and creative. Besides this, she belongs to a specific generation and understands the motivations of this audience from the perspective of being part of your own target. Putting all these ingredients in a cocktail shaker arises a project with a differential advantage, or several, over other competitors. 

When making collections with such a high artistic component, but within an iconography and aesthetic models rooted in an iconography that is shared by so many millions of people(the advantages of globalization), her products fit in multiple markets: They are simply understood as a painting or an artistic facility. 

As for sustainability it is worth highlighting that it is not just to be heard by the audience. The concern is absolutely real and therefore, for example, collections are made locally and with enough stock to cover the demand with the minimum surpluses. 

It is asymmetric, almost without text, with a very discreet branding (a logo associated with the cursor and little more). As for its mobile version is much more consistent, which clearly leads to a Mobile First conception (remember that we are talking about Millenials, so a transgenerational trend is even more shown). 

The mix of digital media is also remarkable. As you can imagine in this kind of projects that mix fashion with the inspirational, social networks based on images are strategically of a high value. Instagram or Pinterest accounts are a great way to channel all that artistic torrent in which, it is cared with the same dedication, from the garment to the scene that is composed by furniture and locations arranged for the highest shine of the product. Many influencers have been attracted by such a personal style. 

Probably what most grabs my attention is that they have used some supports that are out of the ordinary. To begin with, they have bet on TUMBLR, which in this country is not usually seen within the Social Media Mix of brands. It seems that this profile has given them many joys and a very satisfactory level of exposure.