From concept to global Reach

Malvina Podesta, CEO and Founder of Quanticlo, and Francesco Pata, Co-Founder of Quanticlo, discuss their unique approach in the fashion e-commerce landscape.

Joanna Stankiewicz: Hello Malvina, Francesco. You are the founders of an Italian fashion brand. You have built your brand from scratch. Can you give us a brief description of Quanticlo? What sets your brand apart in the shoes and accessories market?

Malvina Podesta: Quanticlo is a women’s footwear brand established in 2014. We started the brand with a budget of about €100, focusing exclusively on the online channel. Over the years we have grown exponentially, emphasizing a new concept related to online shoe sales. By now we are a trendy brand where low and super affordable prices go hand in hand with a well-crafted and cool image, attention to detail, and a stellar customer services offered.

Francesco Pata: We started locally but today Quanticlo sells worldwide, though Italy is still our biggest market. We sell exclusively on our e-commerce website and boast over 1 million followers on social media.

Joanna: You are constantly developing your business. What are your growth plans and strategy for the next few years?

Malvina: Every day is a new challenge. Quanticlo is now an established and recognized fashion brand, but many aspects related to the e-commerce world have changed, and it is essential always to be always up to date and ready for the new.

Francesco: Rising costs, growing competitors, and changes in marketing strategies are continuous challenges. Therefore, for the next few years, we will study new strategies, both in terms of marketing and product offerings, to become an even more reliable reference point in online footwear shopping.

Joanna: What trends inspire you and shape the brand?

Malvina: All that happens in the digital world. Social media has always been our driving force, the main ground and source of inspiration. Social networks like TikTok and Instagram dictate trends through the creators and influencers who populate them. Today, many offline phenomena also go viral thanks to their online exposure.

Joanna: How do you keep pace with current fashion trends?

Francesco: Continuous research and update. We constantly follow all the trends that emerge on social media and offer the most requested styles and looks. Celebrities and influencers set the current trends. We follow all the reference icons of our target audience. Unlike in the past, it is essential to stay updated as trends change and evolve much more quickly.

Joanna: You started your fashion business with in-house logistics and kept it that way for the first few years. In 2020, you signed your first contract with a 3PL company. How did the partnership with Radial come about?

Francesco: Our first experience with an external logistics partner was not easy. In 2022, when we needed to choose a new logistics provider, we were very skeptical. The strategic location of your warehouse in Milan and a new, state-of-the-art facility were among the reasons that led us to choose Radial.

Malvina: Plus, Radial’s capacity to provide tailored and adaptable services was key for an online business like ours, where swift responses to various dynamics are crucial.

Joanna: Have you faced any specific challenges in the order fulfillment process?

Francesco: Quanticlo is a brand that operates exclusively online. This means that there is a large percentage of unpredictability in our business. Some content that goes viral, an unexpected trend, a novelty that exceeds expectations, and all aspects of online ads and marketing often lead to sudden peaks in both the number of orders and best-selling models. This is why our relationship with Radial is crucial. The fact that the team can quickly adapt to Quanticlo’s daily needs is essential.

Joanna: Can we say that the 3PL fulfillment service contributed to Quanticlo’s success?

Malvina: Absolutely! From the beginning of its history, Quanticlo has always offered super-fast shipments, with same-day delivery and a very late cut-off time in the afternoon. This is highly appreciated by our customers. Even today, it is something that many large multinational companies struggle to offer.

Offering a super-fast order fulfillment service is a significant incentive to purchase. Of course, we must rely on logistics that can perfectly meet the promised timelines to not disappoint customers.

Francesco: Among the over 50,000 online reviews of Quanticlo, with a very high average rating, a recurring and valued theme is the super-fast and punctual order fulfillment and delivery.

Joanna: Another key aspect of Quanticlo’s customer service is free returns.

Malvina: Returns are an increasingly complex challenge for online fashion brands like ours. Customers are becoming more and more demanding. They seek an easy process and, above all, a very fast turnaround for product exchange or refund. On the other hand, brands must optimize the return process to avoid excessive losses.

Our collaboration with Radial is essential to manage returns in the best possible way. As a result, we will satisfy customer requests and avoid non-moving stock or additional costs.

Joanna: The process of managing and handling returns in e-commerce has environmental implications. Did you pay attention to sustainability, when choosing Radial as your partner?

Malvina: Yes, sustainability is one of the key topics in the fast fashion industry. Radial’s warehouse immediately impressed us with modernity and attention to sustainability, such as solar panels and gas-free heating.

At the moment we are studying eco-friendly packaging and solutions to avoid unnecessary waste of energy and materials.

Joanna: How do you see the role of e-commerce fulfillment services in shaping the future of your brand?

Francesco: Currently we offer a very high level of fulfillment with the delivery of all orders on the same day and a cut-off time in the late afternoon, services that many logistics and e-commerce companies still struggle to offer. Our goal is to expand the cut-off time more and more and eventually offer a fulfillment service even on weekends.

We are confident that our customers will love these services. They have very high expectations when it comes to the timely delivery of their orders.

Joanna: Are you in close contact with Radial? What aspects of the relationship with our people do you appreciate the most?

Malvina: A close and trusting relationship is crucial in B2B logistics, especially when the locations are distant, as in our case. There is a daily exchange of information between the Quanticlo and the Radial teams, and we believe that with the evolution of technologies, our daily exchange will get easier.

We love that we know all the operators and managers at Radial Italy, and we see a strong team that has been working together for a long time, which is not a given in the logistics environment.

Joanna: Would you recommend collaborating with Radial to other companies?

Malvina: Being in the fashion e-commerce sector for years, we know how important logistics and fulfillment management, whether internal or outsourced, are for the success of a brand.

Marketing, constant research, and investments in products and services are zeroed if there is no logistics infrastructure able to manage the new arrivals, inbound and outbound on time, provide value-added services and optimize storage and inventory.

Francesco: We are happy to have found in Radial such a young, and dynamic team that can adapt to the needs of our brand and, most all, to the sudden prompts that are so crucial for any e-commerce brand.

Radial helps fashion and health & beauty brands optimize their e-commerce fulfillment operations, and their profitability.

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