Spanish Footwear Brand Flabelus to Make U.S. Debut With Store in New York

Flabelus is no longer a promise, but a structure in the process of consolidation. The Spanish footwear brand founded by Beatriz de los Mozos in 2020 is five years old and is entering its most ambitious phase. Having tripled its turnover to €15.9 million in 2024, the company expects to maintain this growth rate in the current fiscal year, based on two pillars: international expansion and operational consolidation.

In just a few years, Flabelus has become one of Spain’s top-performing companies. Having become a global brand, the company now has a presence in 54 countries through more than 700 multi-brand points of sale. Now, the goal is no longer just to be present, but to occupy space under its own name. The new coordinates on the Flabelus map are precise: Serrano in Madrid, SoHo in New York, the Southampton waterfront, and a growing list of key shopping centers in Mexico.

Flabelus’ new chapter kicks off in Mexico. On July 22, the company will open a more than 2,000 square-feet permanent store at 82 Serrano Street, in the heart of the Madrid’s Salamanca neighborhood. This is the brand’s third space in Spanish capital, where it already operates on Hermosilla Street and in the Caleido shopping center, and will be officially presented in September with an event for the press, customers and guests.

Just a few days later, the brand will cross the Atlantic to strengthen its presence in the U.S. Flabelus already had a point of sale in New York, but at the end of July it will open its first permanent store at 505 Broome Street, in SoHo, with an area of 893 square feet. The opening will be accompanied, as in Madrid, by a specific presentation event in September.

Flabelus will land in New York’s SoHo with a store of its own

As part of its seasonal strategy, the company has also opened an ephemeral store in Southampton, on the U.S. East Coast, which will remain open until October 31. With this simultaneous presence in two strategic locations in the state of New York, Flabelus seeks to strengthen brand recognition among the American public and to test the reception of its product in two very different commercial contexts.

Mexico is another priority market for Flabelus, not only because of its sustained growth, but also because of its affinity with the brand profile: feminine, aspirational and artisan-oriented. After operating so far with a kiosk in Mexico City and a first permanent point in Jalisco, the Madrid-based brand will launch three new spaces before September.

The first of these will open on July 7 in a temporary kiosk format, located in the Angelópolis shopping center in Puebla. A week later, another kiosk will be added in Punto Valle (Nuevo León), and in September its first permanent store is scheduled to open in Guadalajara, in the Midtown Jalisco shopping center. In addition, Flabelus has already signed a contract to open a 40-square-meter space in the expansion of the Antara shopping center in Mexico City, which is scheduled to open in November, subject to the progress of the construction work.

“We currently have 13 stores of our own, and by the end of the year we will exceed twenty,“ Isabel Escudero, Flabelus’ retail expansion director, explains to Modaes. “These are just the confirmed openings, but we are already in talks with more than ten opportunities,“ she points out. With these figures, the physical channel gains weight in a structure that until now had based much of its growth on wholesale and the digital channel.

Mexico is the second retail front in the company’s growth plan

The commitment to retail is not new for Flabelus, but it is becoming increasingly sophisticated. In Europe, the company already has a permanent presence in Seville, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Milan and two stores in London (in Notting Hill and Draycott). In France, after opening its first store on rue Bonaparte, on the Parisian Rive Gauche , the company opened its second space in February this year, on rue Marché Saint-Honoré, taking advantage of the context of Paris Fashion Week.

The choice of locations does not respond to a logic of massive expansion, but to a selective strategy that prioritizes visibility, brand positioning and connection with an international public. In parallel, Flabelus maintains a strong presence on digital platforms such as Smallable, Place des Tendances or Nordstrom. Today, the online channel already represents 25% of its turnover, with Spain and the United States as the main drivers.

Flabelus’ qualitative leap is not limited to the commercial level. In April this year, the company opened its first factory in Elche (Alicante), a decision that marks a turning point in its structure. From there, 600,000 pairs are produced annually, sold from 118 euros, and product development is supervised for the different lines: footwear, women’s clothing, accessories and homewear.

“It is the heart of the brand,“ Beatriz de los Mozos assured at the time. “We hope to inspire many more Spanish brands to see that it is possible, so that together we can recover the national business structure of production,“ explained the founder, in a gesture that points to a commitment to the local industrial fabric.

To accompany this process, the company has strengthened its management team with the incorporation of Domingo Barrachina as head of international expansion. The executive, with experience in companies such as Tous, Hoff, Castañer or Pikolinos, pilots the entry into new markets and the consolidation of those already operating.