Alejandro Alegret PhD

CASE STUDY: Rosa López.

Ever since she was a teenager, Rosa Lopez dreamed of becoming a shoe designer
and after reading an article, written by her sister for a women's magazine, about an
Italian shoe designer called Andrea Pfister, she decided to follow her dream.

Without thinking it twice, she moved to Italy and obtained a degree in footwear design
at the Università degli Studi di Milano. Later on, Rosa started working abroad before
returning to her native Spain at the age of 25, with the idea to create her own brand.

Rosa Lopez shoes are much more than shoes. Its high quality production is a complex
process that contains up to forty different components and it requires dozens of hand-
finishing stages. Mixing materials such as sheets of rosewood, silver and reindeer
leather, the elegant designs of Rosa Lopez are perceived almost as an architect
creation and these shoes have the ability to transform the ordinary into something
really beautiful.

Lacking financial support did not dampen her enthusiasm and the name of Rosa Lopez
became a leading brand of shoes in Spain. Besides, she also achieved a great
positioning in foreign markets with presence in 18 countries with more than 200 points
of sale.

As a result of the new trend of products manufactured in Europe, whether than the
typical Made in China, led her company to a critical raise in the company’ sales
volume.

In general, consumers seek quality, comfort, design and technological innovations in

fabrics and materials. A new trend towards “ethical fashion”, social responsibility and
customization of products is an advantage to consider, as consumers nowadays prefer
more limited production and exclusivity rather than mass production lines. Therefore,
limited editions according to certain styles have more market opportunities than
homogeneous lines shown in large chain of shoe stores.

In this sense, Rosa Lopez product’s design, quality and innovation, would not be
unique company's characteristics but also taking care of the environment using
reindeer leather, as it is soft and “green”.

Her winning formula combines global trends with her own style and in 2011, sales
volume of the company raised 40%. All together led Rosa to win the prize for young
entrepreneurs in Spain. So appearances in magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Marie
Claire happen to be on regular basis.

On the other hand, she works hard to keep production in Spain so she tries to build
closer relation with her suppliers through constant communication as to encourage
long-term relationships. Moreover, putting in place ethical activities to support the
social development of the communities where the company operates.

Case Rosa López: 14DCDIST

Alejandro Alegret PhD

Distribution channels basically depend on the type of shoes to be introduced in the

market and it usually follows this pattern:

% of
Type of retailer participation

Specialized 70%

Shoe chain 15%

Independents shoe stores 46%

Buying group 9%

Not specialized 30%

Departmental 11%

Supermarkets 3%

Sports shops 8%

Clothes shops 4%

Internet 1%

Outlets 1%

Others 2%

As one can see in the graph, the retail sales of footwear are clearly dominated by
specialist retailers, which have lost some share in favour of shoe chains in recent
years. Amongst non-specialized retailers (clothing chains, supermarkets and
department) are the most recognized multi-product chains such as Zara, Mango or
H&M. Department stores offer reasonable priced products and supermarkets and
hypermarkets offer low cost footwear.

Besides, Rosa Lopez distributes its own designs through independent shoe stores and
multi-branded.

Rosa Lopez has a strong, bold and dramatic personality that emerges both in her
designs, and in her website where any woman can find the whole range of products
ready to ship around the world in order to create her own style. Nowadays, one could
ensure that her former purpose, bringing beauty into everyday life through shoes with a
touch of boldness, has been completely achieved. But, Rosa López will not stop just
here…

Case Rosa López: 14DCDIST