The funding solution that allowed Flabelus to go a step further

Beatriz de Los Mozos created Flabelus during the pandemic. She wanted to make products which were both environmentally and socially sustainable, and decided to take the leap and start building out the businesses she'd dreamed of.

The company has over 180 points of sale worldwide and a physical shop in Madrid. In fact, Flabelus footwear walks the streets of places as diverse as Latin America, the heart of Europe and, Japan and South Korea. Now, more than 25,000 pairs of trainers have been sold worldwide.

“We are very concerned about sustainability in everything we do, so we work very closely with suppliers and manufacturers to ensure that they use top quality sustainable materials,” says Beatriz, adding that this close monitoring is facilitated by the fact that all of the company’s products are made in Spain.

The challenge: securing growth without bank loans

Flabelus, which now makes more than 500 products, is underpinned by a solid business model which closely monitors the company’s financial stability; to date, its growth has been fuelled entirely by its own revenues, building a robust balance sheet which enhances the company’s value. Nonetheless, Beatriz and the business were faced with the obstacle of managing the cashflow, which is why she reached out for Wayflyer’s support.

Another concern for Beatriz was stock management, as Flabelus set up shop in a completely atypical year, during the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant that it did not have a comparable baseline in subsequent years, as its sales performance at the outset was anything but traditional.

The solution: Flexible financing to support expansion

Flabelus started working with Wayflyer in December 2021 in order to help support its ambitious growth plans. “Wayflyer is the complement we needed to get where we couldn't get before. They are helping us a lot, especially with invoice management,” says Beatriz.

“We started 2022 with strong growth and sold over 4,000 pairs in the first two months of the year, after selling 21,000 pairs in 2021,” says Beatriz.

The entrepreneur points out that the speed and flexibility with which Wayflyer operates is helping the company to achieve its growth goals without having to rely excessively on bank financing. This was very important in the design of the business model.

This collaboration has also improved the problems of calculating stock levels, since, as Beatriz acknowledges, “we sold everything we manufactured, so this extra boost has allowed us to meet every order, whatever the time of year”.