The Barcelona-based company PDPAOLA has opened its first international store in central London. The opening of the 110 m² establishment marks the beginning of the international expansion of the Catalan jewelry brand which, until now, had focused its sales strategy abroad through the online channel.
This was announced this Sunday by the Department of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, which, through Acció's Foreign Office for Trade and Investment in London, has supported PDPAOLA's first international expansion project.
The new store will open this month and is located in the center of the British capital, at number 18 Floral Street, in the Covent Garden area, an important London commercial hub with a presence of global brands in the fashion sector.
Despite starting its journey in the digital channel, in 2021 the company decided to open its first physical store, on Diagonal in Barcelona. "Despite being a native digital brand, as part of our expansion, we wanted to offer our customers the physical store experience, so we decided to open flagship stores in key locations," explains the company's business development director, Miquel Cardona. Among the cities where the brand has opened stores are Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and Bilbao. According to the executive, "85% of the business is already generated outside the country through the online channel and multi-brand," so the opening of physical stores seeks to reinforce this strategy.
"London is the first destination for our online sales and we already had a presence in renowned department stores in the United Kingdom such as Selfridges and John Lewis," explains Cardona. In addition, he adds, the British capital "symbolizes a global vision and that is the mission we have, to build a brand with a direct presence on all continents."
PDPAOLA's goal is to consolidate itself in the British market, expanding its presence in London, where it plans to open another 10 establishments in the next 3 years. The expansion strategy of the Catalan jewelry firm also includes the forecast of opening three stores in Italy in 2023, in addition to establishing itself physically in France, Germany, and the United States in the coming years.
PDPAOLA is a family-owned company, founded in 2014 by siblings Paola and Humbert Sasplugas. It has more than 120 employees and a workshop in Barcelona, with its own creative team that is committed to the use of sustainable materials and the circular economy. According to Acció, in 2022 the company opened six more of its own stores in the Spanish market, although its products can also be found in large department stores and in more than 2,000 international points of sale. Recently, the firm also closed a distribution agreement in the United States, where it has a presence in 50 points of sale.