From boutique to global brand: The Calla Shoes growth story

Answering her own prayers

The business was the brainchild of the company’s owner, Jennifer Bailey, who had personally suffered for over 20 years and was constantly frustrated by the lack of stylish footwear options available:

“As bunions are a common condition for women of all ages, I saw a perfect opportunity to solve my own footwear problem, help other women in the same situation, and launch a business with a unique market position - all at the same time.”

In 2016, she launched Calla to fill this gap, offering elegant shoes designed specifically for women with bunions. Since then, Calla has grown into a global brand, serving customers in over 40 countries.

A partnership built on precision and care

Streamlining operations for global expansion

After successfully going live from fulfilmentcrowd’s Lancashire-based Matrix Park center, Calla now outsources both fulfillment and delivery across the EU - and has recently expanded into the U.S. Providing a true ‘white glove’ service, fulfilmentcrowd stores Calla’s products in a sterile, secure environment, carefully handling each item to ensure it arrives with the customer in pristine condition.

With fulfilmentcrowd’s integrated technology, Jennifer has been able to step away from the manual demands of operations and focus on growing her brand. Real-time data and intelligent purchasing forecasts give her the insight she needs to make smarter buying decisions and accelerate business development.

As Calla expanded into new markets, fulfilmentcrowd provided the infrastructure to support its growth. Here’s how we’ve helped:

• U.S. Market Entry: In April 2024, we facilitated the relocation of stock to our Richmond, U.S. center, cutting shipping costs and reducing transit times.

• U.S. Returns Management: We introduced a new grading process for returns, allowing Calla to resell gently-used items, increasing order volume and reducing waste.

• Canadian Market Optimization: Through integration with Swap, we enabled a duty-paid shipping option for Canadian customers, creating a smoother shopping experience.

“fulfilmentcrowd provides an ideal solution for fledgling businesses like Calla. As a niche, growing company, we are still able to access facilities, expertise and technologies that enable us to punch above our weight in the eCommerce marketplace.”  – Jennifer Bailey, Founder of Calla Shoes

Impressive growth metrics

Calla’s partnership with fulfilmentcrowd has delivered outstanding results:

• Order Volume: Monthly order volume has increased by more than 460% since 2018, reaching a record high during peak 2024.

• CAGR: Achieved a 33.4% compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2024.

• SLA Performance: Maintained a 99.3% service level agreement throughout the partnership.

Looking Ahead

With plans to expand further into the EU and Canada, Calla Shoes continues to rely on fulfilmentcrowd’s expertise and infrastructure to support its growth. Our ongoing collaboration ensures that Calla can stay focused on what it does best—designing stylish, comfortable shoes - while we take care of the logistics.

“The team at fulfilmentcrowd is great – down-to-earth, practical and experienced in all thing's eCommerce. They have clearly refined fulfilment to an art form, and they will be an important part of my commercial strategy as I continue to develop Calla’s international sales and product ranges.” – Jennifer Bailey, Founder of Calla Shoes 

Nothing makes us prouder than seeing our customers succeed—and kind words like these give us that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. We’re thrilled to be part of Calla’s journey and can’t wait to continue supporting Jennifer as she expands into new markets, launches new products, and keeps putting comfort and confidence at the heart of every step.

Looking for a strategic fulfillment partner to support your brand’s growth? Get in touch with our team today.