When Marina Larroudé and her husband launched their namesake company Larroudé, back in 2020, they pitched the shoe brand’s innovative model—a quality product that was distributed via quick drop-ship delivery, all vertically integrated, with the shoes moving from the factory floor to the customer’s home in a matter of weeks. Larroudé, herself, also had a story to sell: She was a well-liked fashion insider who had worked at Barney’s, the shoe brand Schutz, Style.com, and Teen Vogue. Her finance guy husband, Ricardo, joined her as C.E.O. to stand up the company’s operations and give the brand some business cred. The Larroudés didn’t take on meaningful institutional money, and instead self-financed and raised capital from friends and family, giving the couple the ultimate control and ability to do their thing. More than four years later, Larroudé has remained true to its promise, with a business model that aims to create a nimbler, more efficient, less wasteful way of operating a fashion company. Larroudé owns its factory in Brazil, which it opened in 2023, and has some 200 employees. Meanwhile, I’ve heard estimates that Larroudé was on pace to make $60 million in sales last year—a meaningful accomplishment for a startup in a market dominated by endlessly capitalized name-brand players. (The company declined to comment on its revenue.) It has largely succeeded by making shoes that are approachable for work and casual dressing, like the Blair, a Mary Jane ballet flat that comes in more than a dozen fabrications, and the Dolly, a 4.5-inch block heel with a 1.5-inch platform. Even though 80 percent of Larroudé’s business is direct to consumer, fashion is a multichannel industry, and drop-shipping is an enhancement to wholesale, not a replacement. And Larroudé, as a small brand, had to deal with plenty of the headaches that plague other, far larger businesses that work with department stores, too. Retail, after all, is a system that tends to reward deep-pocketed manufacturers that can afford to make products many quarters in advance of their sale, wait months for payments, and absorb returns—like the dreaded R.T.V., or return to vendor—and discounts on unsold products. Marina Larroudé acknowledged “hundreds of thousands” in delayed payments from both Saks and Neiman Marcus, surmising that the slowdown stemmed from their merger. (Saks declined to comment.) Anyway, in late 2024, the company changed its wholesale strategy to mimic its D.T.C. roots, pivoting away from taking large wholesale orders preseason and instead working with department stores and larger boutiques to maintain inventory control, only shipping products after they’d sold through the retailer’s website. Instead of placing orders six months in advance, they would just sell what was available from their inventory. It was a seemingly small pivot, but also a big one in a hidebound industry. “I do think it takes someone who is an outsider,” Marina told me recently, regarding the couple’s decision to drop-ship-ify their wholesale business.

Larroudé’s accordioned supply chain dramatically reduced the risk of a wholesale partner ending up with shoes nobody wants. “We are able to produce in between two and three weeks’ time,” Marina told me. “Which is insane if you compare it to the major footwear brands. They take at least six months, sometimes a year, to get a reorder in, right? So we really changed the game in that sense.” The strategy had other perks, too. “If they have a shoe that is not selling, and they decide to put that on a markdown, at the end of the day it’s jeopardizing our brand,” Marina said. “So for us, it’s better if we have access to see what performs, and then we're gonna produce more.” Of course, there were setbacks as well. The company did more business in November 2024 than all of 2022, but the high volume led to shipping holdups, delayed refunds, and uneven customer support. Most of the volume came from the company’s D.T.C. channels, but it was hard to contain. Some of those gripes would eventually find their way onto Larroudé’s Instagram account. Indeed, small forecasting misses can result in meaningful delays. But rather than communicate those delays to consumers this past quarter, it seems they just… hoped it would get better. Larroudé did offer credits to customers, but the resulting social media comments were a mess. Since then, the company has been ramping up its customer service—Marina and Ricardo were also jumping in to help handle complaints themselves—and looking for additional support. In any event, it could not have been a restful holiday for the couple. Larroudé’s growing pains highlight just how hard it is to reinvent the traditional retail model. But the company’s also tackling the industry’s biggest headaches head-on. Yes, yes, they still need to solve their operational challenges, but the shift away from traditional wholesale could provide a new blueprint for inventory management. In an industry grappling with inventory issues, delayed payments, and changing consumer expectations, their experiment is admirable. Whether or not they succeed, they’re showing the industry what the future of fashion retail could look like.

Some lessons on the importance of fresh inventory and more from Mytheresa (LuxExperience? 😬) C.E.O. Michael Kliger. [What’s Contemporary Now] Quince—which is on the road to being an online Kirkland, a.k.a. Costco’s private label—is expanding into fragrance, supplements, and more men’s categories. [Modern Retail] Sabyasachi invited what feels like half the international fashion industry to Mumbai for its 25th anniversary runway show. It’s early days, but this is definitely in the running for top press trip of 2025. [Elle] This past week, Demna was awarded France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and Kim Jones was awarded the Legion of Honor. [WWD and WWD] Plum Sykes launched a Substack! [PS by Plum Sykes] Pete Nordstrom and Burberry C.E.O. Joshua Schulman offer an essential lesson in sock styling. [The Nordy Pod]

And finally… Can we talk about former WSJ. and T magazine editor Deborah Needleman’s baskets? Until tomorrow, Lauren P.S.: We are using affiliate links because we are a business. We may make a couple bucks off them.

Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep behind the scenes of this multitrillion-dollar biz, from creative director switcheroos to M&A drama, D.T.C. downfalls, and magazine mishaps. Fashion People is an extension of Line Sheet, Lauren’s private email for Puck, where she tracks what’s happening beyond the press releases in fashion, beauty, and media. New episodes publish every Tuesday and Friday.

Unique and privileged insight into the private conversations taking place inside boardrooms and corner offices up and down Wall Street, relayed by best-selling author, journalist, and former M&A senior banker William D. Cohan.

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news. You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with . To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.

Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 107 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10006