Boticca
TypePrivate
IndustryJewelry, fashion accessories
FoundedOctober 2009
FounderKiyan Foroughi, Avid Larizadeh
Headquarters
London
,
England
Area served
Global
ProductsJewelry, Handbags, Fashion accessories
WebsiteBoticca.com

Boticca was a London-based retail website for jewelry and fashion accessories, that featured a selection of emerging fashion designers.[1][2][3]

History

Kiyan Foroughi, a French former investment banker while on holiday in Marrakesh in December 2008, engaged in conversation with jewelry designer Mariam.[4] Living in the Atlas Mountains, Mariam travelled to the souq in Marrakesh three times a week to sell her jewelry, mainly to tourists. Foroughi decided to launch a retail website with co-founder Avid Larizadeh selling emerging designers like Mariam.[5]

Since launching in January 2010,[2] the company featured in Vogue,[3] and worn by Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba.[3][6]

In the company's first round of funding, Boticca raised $2.5M, led by ISAI and joined by Japanese Internet incubator Digital Garage.[7] In its second round in September 2013 it raised an additional $4 million (£2.44m), led by UK venture capital firm MMC Ventures, and high-net-worth individuals, including Sina Afra.[5]

In April 2014, co-founder Avid Larizadeh, left Boticca operationally in her role as COO while remaining a founding shareholder of the business.

In September 2014, Boticca unveiled a fully rebranded website with major UI improvements, a novel content strategy, a shipping partnership with DHL and the appointment of Dave Killeen (formerly Product Lead at Badoo and Executive Product Manager for the BBC iPlayer) as Product Director.[8]

In October 2014, Boticca appointed former Liberty Fashion Director and MyWardrobe Buying and Merchandising Director Luisa De Paula as the new Fashion & Brand Director.[9]

In August 2015, Boticca was acquired by Wolf & Badger.[10]

As of June 2020, Boticca.com redirects to the Wolf & Badger website.

Operations

The company took only a maximum 35% of the sale price,[5] as opposed to the normal online retail model of between 40% and 50%, leaving the creator with 65%.[5] The company garnered between 30 and 40 new retail designer applications each week, of which on average just 3 or 4 were listed on the website.[5] The company also sourced through two in-house style hunters, who through researching through web, magazines, blogs, trade shows and fashion weeks spotted new talent, and hence sourced around 90% of the newly listed product.[5] Global designers could apply to be featured, but all designers had to uphold the "Designer Charter" in order to ensure quality of both product and customer service.[11]

By January 2011 Boticca was retailing independent designers from over 40 countries, including Estonia, Lebanon, South Korea the United Arab Emirates and Colombia.[1] 155 of the 350 brands sold through the website led on jewelry, whilst the rest covered accessories such as bags, scarves, belts and hats.[5] After the second round of fund raising, the company launched Boticca.fr in September 2013, making France the companies' third biggest market after the UK and United States.[5]

Awards

The Independent rated it first in their 2014 survey of the top six jewelry retail websites.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Kabir Chibber (31 October 2010). "High fashion learns to love selling online". BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 Eric Pfanner (21 November 2010). "Luxury Brands Tailoring Approach to the Web". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "Bijoux Bar at Boticca". Vogue. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Boticca. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kathryn Bishop (17 January 2014). "How Boticca became the world's local jeweller". Professional Jeweller. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "I-SPIED competition: win five unique pieces of designer jewellery". Telegraph Fashion. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  7. ↑ Julie Klein (16 May 2011). "Deals & More: Boticca gets $2.5M to help shoppers discover indie jewelry". VentureBeat.
  8. ↑ Kathryn Bishop (30 September 2014). "Boticca reveals rebrand and executive appointments". Professional Jeweller. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Ruth Faulkner (17 October 2014). "Boticca appoints Luisa de Paula". Retail Jeweller.
  10. ↑ Sarah Jordan (31 July 2015). "Wolf & Badger merges with Boticca to create global omni-channel powerhouse". Professional Jeweller. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  11. ↑ Tsosis, Alexia (29 October 2010). "Boticca, An Online Marketplace For More Original Accessories". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  12. ↑ "What a gem! 6 best online jewellery shops". The Independent. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
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