Miista restructures operations, opens new space in Paris

With 13 years of history, Miista is entering a new phase in its business. Internationally known as an avant-garde footwear brand designed in London and handcrafted in Spain, the brand founded by its creative director, Galician Laura Villasenin, is adopting a new organization to navigate the post-Brexit landscape. Miista emphasized that these changes are “not a farewell to London,” but rather “an attempt to take our passion to the next level.”

The company, closely tied to East London’s culture since its inception, has decided to move its London headquarters to its own Galician factory in northern Spain, recently opened as a way to protect local craftsmanship.

“Brexit was a challenge for us. It was a reality check that forced us to learn rapidly and professionalize all our operations,” explained Pablo Villasenin, business director and brother of Miista’s founder, to FashionNetwork.com.

A return to its origins
While the brand has been sourcing its products in Spain, Italy, and Portugal for several years, the director acknowledged the economic difficulties caused by Brexit: “There came a point where maintaining operations in the UK was costing double. Running a small but internationally-reaching business from the capital was becoming unfeasible.”

In response to this situation, the company has opened its own warehouse in Manchester to serve the UK market. The region’s significance is key to its business. After the United States, the UK is its second-largest market in terms of turnover, followed by France and the rest of Europe.

In this mature phase, Miista aims to shorten the supply chain to “defend local craftsmanship, the community, and international cosmopolitan inspirations.”

As a result, logistics operations continue to be managed from Oporto, Portugal. According to Villasenin, Spain “will gain a lot of centrality by concentrating most of the operations,” housing Miista’s central services, design, and production departments.

To accommodate this structure, Miista is preparing to install a new 1,200-square-meter factory in the Morás industrial estate in Arteixo (A Coruña), where companies like the Estrella Galicia brewery will also be located. Conceived as a “craftsmanship, community, creation, and photography complex,” the space will open its doors in 10 months and will initially house the 20 employees with whom the company operates in Galicia.

In this new factory, the brand will also manufacture its ready-to-wear collections, an experimental category launched last year that already represents 10% of the company’s turnover. Globally, Miista’s workforce will expand to 55 employees.

“Our industry is highly competitive. We hope to leverage synergies in a place with a lot of qualified talent. It’s a way to put Galicia on the map as a leading region in textiles, logistics, and craftsmanship,” said Villasenin about the tradition of manufacturing in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, its new factory will be located not far from the headquarters of the Inditex giant.

Miista’s bet in France

With over 523,000 followers on Instagram, Miista will support its international development by strengthening its commitment to the French capital, where it regularly hosts events and pop-up stores. At the end of next October, the Galician brand will open a new store in Le Marais, specifically at 83 rue de Turenne. With a larger space, this move will lead to the closure of its physical store in Paris, located at 31 rue Charlot, on January 15.

“It will be a new, different space for experimentation, designed to create a community,” Villasenin anticipated about their upcoming store, which will feature areas dedicated to fashion offerings and marketing.

The opening involves the establishment of an internal press and communications office in Paris, as well as the creation of the position of Miista’s communications director. After four years as head of public relations at KCD, specialist Esther Ducloy has been chosen to head these responsibilities.

According to information provided by the brand, Miista is experiencing 15% year-on-year growth and expects to close the current fiscal year with a turnover of 12 million euros. Currently, 70% of sales come from its well-established online channel, while the remaining 30% come from physical points of sale, including its own stores in London, Barcelona, and Paris.

Looking ahead, the company aims to maintain its independent identity.

“At the moment, the entry of investors is not on our roadmap. We feel very comfortable with our pace and want to consolidate our model organically,” concluded Villasenin.