Sara Naghedi marks 433,500-unit tote milestone as range expands

By Tom Whitfield

Sara Naghedi’s eponymous accessories brand has sold more than 433,500 handwoven neoprene St. Barths Totes since launching the bag in 2016, equivalent to a simple average of roughly 43,350 units a year if sales were spread evenly. The founder reported the figure in her Flatiron office earlier this month; the company did not disclose an annual run rate.

Naghedi started the business as a passion project in 2016, the same year her daughter was born. She said watching the brand grow alongside her daughter has been an extraordinary experience. The St. Barths has remained the bestseller for the full decade, a performance she described as a considerable feat for one product to carry a label for 10 years.

Bloomingdale’s supplied the first retail break. Marissa Galante Frank saw the brand’s vision and brought it into the store in 2016, a milestone Naghedi described as huge. In 2021, executives from Liberty London contacted the company after discovering the label on Instagram.

Operationally, 2020 marked Naghedi’s decision to commit meaningful resources to the business and build its e-commerce channel.

A wider range, with footwear in the middle

The brand entered footwear in 2024 with three sandals for resort 2024: the St. Barths slide, Laguna platform and Havana sandal, each offered in multiple colorways. The range now includes sandals, flats, loafers, sneakers and heels, all carrying the signature handwoven detailing.

In the month of the interview, the footwear line launched officially on Nordstrom’s website, alongside the existing handbag assortment. Naghedi said: “The shoe business was a huge learning curve for me personally, but the collection has been received pretty well.” She considers new categories difficult and slow to establish, and said the footwear business has found its stride, a verdict delivered with a no-pun qualification.

Her central lesson is that bags and shoes behave differently in the market. She described bags as nearly universal in shape, size and style, while noting that no shoe would work for everybody. That distinction informs a footwear offer now spanning five broad categories.

Beyond bags and footwear, the company has added cosmetics pouches, phone cases, belts and bag charms in recent years. Naghedi described the period as unusually active for product development, with footwear still only two years old at the time of the interview.

The founder uses a narrow definition of innovation. For Naghedi, it means straying from the classic St. Barths and Nomad bags, which she concedes would not amount to much innovation for most brands. A recent suede application required about 20 attempts to reach the final product. The company is also working on new weaves and examining additional uses for suede and leather in future collections.

What does this change for brand and wholesale planning?

The commercial evidence is stronger than the operating detail. Naghedi said sales have grown 18-fold since the 2020 investment in resources and e-commerce, and annual growth has averaged more than 40 percent over the past three years.

The brand now sells through 441 retailers worldwide. These are founder-reported results, but they establish meaningful distribution for a label founded as a passion project.

Naghedi said: “Wholesale has been consistently very strong for us.” She said stores placing orders remain loyal to the brand and willing to try new products, which she regards as one of the company’s main achievements.

The next channel decision is already visible: Nordstrom’s website now carries footwear alongside handbags, while the company’s own e-commerce channel gives it a direct route to consumers.

A Naghedi-owned showroom-store in the Northeast remains possible on either a short- or long-term horizon, and she described the concept as a dream. If pursued, the brand would fund and operate the location, although Naghedi disclosed no budget, lease or opening date.

For sourcing and buying teams, the suede example is a warning against treating a new material as production-ready. Reaching the final product after about 20 attempts signals substantial development work, although Naghedi disclosed no sample cost or volume behind those iterations.

She also disclosed no factory names, production locations, certifications, lead times, wholesale prices, margins, capacity or inventory levels. The figures support conclusions about channel reach and historical growth, not yet landed cost or delivery risk.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: a 433,500-unit tote anchors a business that now spans footwear and adjacent accessories, while 441 retailer relationships and 18-fold sales growth provide a larger base for expansion.

Those checkpoints are footwear sell-through, growth above the recent 40 percent pace and a financed Northeast opening; until then, the store remains an intention rather than a committed location.