Nanushka has seemingly cooked up a recipe for instant success. In three years, the Budapest-based sustainable fashion label, founded by Sandra Sandor, has garnered the fervor of fashion editors; is stocked at major retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue; increased its revenue by nearly 25 times; and recently opened a 3,300-square-foot store at the posh SoHo neighborhood in New York. But what may appear to be a 30-minute meal—a speedy trajectory to the top—was actually a slow roast.
The brand was founded in 2006, nearly a decade before it became a burgeoning force in the industry. So, what was the missing ingredient that added the necessary kick? Evidently, it was basic business acumen. Before 2016, Nanushka was effectively hemorrhaging money, operating on a scale that isn't conducive to running a successful global company.
Indeed, Nanushka wasn't lacking in its creative output. Throughout her career, Sandor has designed forward-thinking collections for men and women that imbue a timeless quality. From sharply tailored vegan leather coats to draped dresses in eye-catching hues, she consistently offers styles that are easy to wear, but also have clear elements of panache. It's no wonder why the brand in so beloved on Instagram. Still, this doesn't mean that it was turning a profit.
On the surface, fashion is a creative industry based on pushing forward an ideal, often glamorous image. But scratch away the first coat, and it is essentially a business based on low margins, high spending, and competition in a marketplace that has become so overly saturated that even the best labels have closed up shop. Understanding these basic principles is Peter Baldaszti, a Hungarian entrepreneur who saw the potential in making Nanushka a global fashion brand.
He was dating Sandor three years prior to taking on the role of CEO and co-owner in 2016, the year that changed the course of the company. What he did to overhaul Nansushka and astoundingly increase revenue wasn't groundbreaking in the least. He simply had the foresight to see that it could really impact the global market. And after instituting a solid operating system—and with a little bit of luck—the brand is now a palatable enterprise.
Ahead of Nansushka's New York store opening, Baldaszti served up his recipe for making Nanushka relatively successful.
