Nomasei Targets 5 Million Euros as UK Sales Jump 40 Percent

UK sales at Nomasei grew 40 percent year-on-year, double the French footwear brand's overall 20 percent growth — the number anchoring a physical-retail push that now includes a London pop-up, a US subsidiary and a first Paris store targeted for mid-2027.

The company has set a 5 million-euro fundraising target, up from the "one-plus-10" framework cofounders Marine Braquet and Paule Tenaillon described to WWD last year. So far, the brand has raised 500,000 euros from friends-and-family investors. Braquet confirmed the round is ongoing but disclosed no anchor investor — a gap worth watching, given the enlarged ask.

The London pop-up runs Nov. 12 to 22 at 2 Blenheim Crescent, a 500-square-foot Notting Hill space. British sustainable label E.L.V. Denim, founded by former fashion editor Anna Foster, joins for a three-day residency from Nov. 19, including a co-styling event pairing its pieces with Nomasei footwear. The range on sale spans the bestselling Nono loafers to the relaunched lace-up Slalom winter booties — the brand's first shoe made in Portugal, a production shift the company has not yet priced into public margin figures.

Why the UK matters now

Braquet described the UK as a dynamic market with strong purchasing power, akin to the American one. The numbers back the comparison only partly. The US remains Nomasei's largest market and accounts for half of its business, though its share has slipped as UK and French sales grew. No absolute revenue figures were disclosed, so the growth rates rest on an undisclosed base.

The company recently finalized a US subsidiary. Braquet said the structure will alleviate the impact of US tariffs on its goods and support a wider American expansion. "Now that we have this, we could offer the experience we have in Paris with a showroom, somewhere clients can come and try the product without us committing immediately to a store," she said. No location, headcount or timeline for the showroom was given.

From pop-ups to permanent retail

The London activation follows a third New York pop-up, recently concluded. Both feed a broader physical-retail plan: a concession at Paris' Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche from March to May next year, then a first brick-and-mortar store in Paris in the second or third quarter of 2027.

The founders resisted physical retail through France's protest years and the pandemic. The calculus has changed. Sales at the Paris showroom leaped 50 percent this year, and Braquet said the founders see "a real demand to try the product." After Paris, she floated "two small outposts in London and New York" — an intention, not a confirmed plan. "Our ambition is not to have some giant flagship store on Fifth Avenue," she added.

Repeat customers generate 40 percent of revenue, which Braquet called the logical basis for the retail and funding strategy.

Margin work behind the scenes

Braquet said the brand has been solidifying fundamentals to improve margins and "prove the pertinence and scalability of Nomasei's model." One change is operational: a business partner who owns a factory has joined full-time as technical director, tightening production oversight. She offered no margin targets or timeline for the improvement.

On the investor search, Braquet wants a partner with industry experience. "The challenge is Nomasei is something of a hybrid," she said. "We are a brand built on exceptional craftsmanship; we create luxury handcrafted goods but we don't aspire to present ourselves or communicate as the major luxury houses do — we want to write something new."

Whether a 5 million-euro round closes on that positioning, and whether the 2027 Paris store holds its date, will test the model's scalability claims against results.