Made in Italy, Conceived in SDA
Moritz Offeney, 31 years old, enrolled in the MBA at SDA Bocconi at the end of 2009 with the intent to add an economics background to his education before returning to his family's law firm in Hannover. But his time in Milan, impressed by the offer on display in Europe's fashion capital, deeply changed his outlook and, together with the entrepreneurial spirit he picked up at SDA, inspired him and his classmate Marco Reiter, 26 year old Austrian, to create a company, Scarosso, selling online handmade high-end Italian shoes.
"The idea come from experiencing how Italy was immersed in fashion, unlike elsewhere, and we were impressed by the variety available," says Moritz. "And then we saw that the shoemarket in Europe is the biggest worldwide and there was a gap in the segment for men's shoes in the 80-200 euro price range."
After some hard thought, and in parallel with classes and coursework, the duo spent 3 months scouting leather and shoe producers before finding a shoe workshop they were satisfied with, in Montegranaro in the Marche region, central Italy, famous for the handcraft of shoes. Their entrepreneurship was further highlighted by how they learnt by themselves how to design shoes. The learning process was mostly hands on by producing several samples and working through all manufacturing phases of the production of the shoe manufacturing process. In October 2010 the first pairs of classic shoes, Oxford model, were ready to be worn.
"The help we received from SDA was vital," says Offeney. "Professors Mikkel Draebye and Erica Corbellini gave us guidance in the initial phase of the venture. Especially the dean Alberto Grando gave us time and advice and helped us create a network which was crucial for the launch and success of Scarosso. And, last but not least, our classmates bought our first production of shoes! We really feel this is a Bocconi company."
After their graduation in November 2010, the duo took the decision to move the headquarters to Berlin, more favorable for launching an e-commerce business like theirs and for meeting venture capitalists. The website for online sales was launched at the beginning of 2011 and the first full year of production saw marketing activity focalized in Germany, which accounted for 92% of sales, but attention is now also being turned to Austria and Switzerland. A first year which proved very successful since the company sold 3,500 pairs of shoes. The company now has 11 employees.
Scarosso is now defining a new investment from top tier Berlin-based business angels, an important step to further expansion which sees the company branching out into the production of ladies' footwear. Another upcoming innovation will be the opportunity for clients to customize online the design of their shoes which will then be individually handcrafted back in Italy.
"We would like to set up a specific product design unit in Milan, maybe in synergy with SDA and the Mafed program," says Offeney. "We like to draw upon the best from Germany, such as best practices in operations, and from Italy, which is the best for branding and quality."