[Women’s Shoes] Launching a jewel-like international brand in Korea for the first time

The world is vast, and there are many gem-like international brands out there. Among them, wadiz features “Global Makers” who discover solid and intriguing international brands and introduce them to the Korean market. A prime example is a maker dedicated to finding and introducing the most comfortable and ethical international shoe brands to Korea—the shoe curation brand “Save Hills.”

Save Hills has written a legendary story, raising a cumulative total of 1.2 billion won through global funding by introducing “Piccadilly,” a Brazilian women’s shoe brand that has been beloved by flight attendants in 14 countries around the world for 66 years. Discover their global funding story.  

Honesty Matters More Than Trends
We are ‘Save Hills,’ a global maker

A Meeting Between the CEO of Save Hills and Staff at Piccadilly Headquarters

Hello, I’m Haeri Kim, brand manager for the shoe boutique brand “Save Hills .” Save Hills imports and sells comfortable, ethically produced international shoe brands. Whether a shoe is from a famous brand or a bestseller isn’t particularly important to us. We prioritize a brand’s treatment of factory workers and the use of eco-friendly materials in production when deciding which products to import.

In terms of functionality, we place great importance on comfort. Our staff personally tries on the shoes multiple times to meticulously check factors such as weight, cushioning, and the safety of the materials. After all, shoes are something we wear almost every day. To ensure our products bring a little joy to your day, we introduce global brands based on Save Hills’ own meticulous standards.

We introduced a leading Brazilian women’s shoe brand with a 70-year tradition
on wadiz

[Source] MICAM Official Website / MICAM, the largest annual shoe exhibition held in Milan

On wadiz, achieved cumulative funding of 1.2 billion wonand has been widely loved. We first discovered “Piccadilly” at MICAM, the world’s largest footwear trade show, held in Milan, Italy, in 2016. Although it’s just starting to gain recognition in Korea through Save Hills, it’s actually a time-honored brand with a history spanning nearly 70 years, having been launched in Brazil in 1955.

Piccadilly’s production facility in Brazil

We decided to import the brand because we were impressed by several factors: the fact that, unusually for a footwear brand, it operates its own localproduction facility; its use of eco-friendly, biodegradable materials free of animal-derived ingredients; and the exceptional quality of its products—so much so that it’s a favorite among flight attendants at major airlines worldwide.

At first, we brought the products into the country and conducted market testing. Seeing the positive reactions from customers gave us confidence in the product quality, and while we were looking for ways to introduce the brand to a wider audience, we came across wadiz.

Wadiz is a platform where even overseas brands with low recognition in Korea can showcase their products attractively if they have a unique Story. Wadiz supporters are open to discovering new brands and products they haven’t seen anywhere else. I chose wadiz as a sales channel because I believed it was a place where people would recognize our efforts if we presented authentic products and Stories.

We turned the challenges of global funding
into an opportunity

One challenge we faced while running a global project to import and distribute overseas brands in Korea was that it wasn’t easy to quickly and frequently introduce products that Korean customers would enjoy. In the case of Piccadilly, in particular, since the production factory is located on the other side of the globe in Brazil, it takes about six months from the time an order is placed to production and shipping.

So, to ensure our supporters didn’t feel disappointed during this waiting period and to present upgraded products and services in our next project, we’ve done our very best. We took full advantage of wadiz as a platform that enables close communication with supporters by conducting active surveys and one-on-one consultations.We identified feedback and needs regarding our products and services through these effortsand incorporated them into our next funding campaign.

Piccadilly-related survey conducted among wadiz supporters

For example, by consulting directly with our supporters, we created size guidelines tailored to each individual’s foot shape and conditions. As we accumulated this vast amount of data, we were able to provide a satisfying service to an even greater number of people.

Not only that, but we also ask them directly about the types of events and products they’d like to see. For example, during the one-month campaign that ran through this month, Piccadilly’s round-toe pumps funding campaign,, which ran for a month through this month, was a project planned based on our supporters’ comments.

We conducted a survey asking for comments on new products, and about 10% of the responses were requests for round-toe pumps. Launching the funding campaign through this process made me feel like we were creating the project together with our supporters.It was a wonderful experience for the brandas well. 

There were many moments of joy through this communication. It’s hard to pick just one, but I remember a review from someone who said, “I’ve never worn regular shoes because they’re uncomfortable, but thanks to Piccadilly, I’ve found the shoes of my life.” There was also a time when a pair of sisters filmed and edited a video of themselves running around in Piccadilly shoes and sent it to us. Seeing reviews like that made me laugh a lot and feel truly happy. We started as a brand with almost no name recognition in Korea, but I believe we were able to receive such overwhelming support because our supporters recognized our efforts.

Completed on wadiz
“Piccadilly,” the flight attendant shoe that raised a cumulative 1.2 billion won on Wadiz

Save Hills introduces several international shoe brands, but “Piccadilly” achieved such remarkable success that we consider it to have truly been brought to life through wadiz. Nicknamed the “flight attendant shoes,” it reached approximately 15,000 backers and raised around 1.2 billion won in cumulative funding. 

Both brand awareness and sales grew significantly through wadiz.Even afterthe fundingended, many people continued to remember not only Piccadilly but also Save Hills.

Piccadilly’s headquarters was also extremely satisfied with the results of the wadiz funding campaign. They particularly appreciated how the brand and products were introduced through wadiz with solid, detailed content. Global makers who import and selloverseasbrands will likely relate to this: securing official distribution rights, including exclusive contracts, is no easy task. This is because, no matter how much you like a brand, there are many variables to consider—such as its fit with the domestic market, production, shipping, and pricing.

In that process, it’s crucial to highlight that we already have a proven track record of successfully managing a variety of brands, and our wadiz funding results made it easy to demonstrate our strengths, which was a huge help.

Instead of getting carried away by every ups and downs,
we maintained a consistent and responsible attitude

Kim Hae-ri, Brand Manager at Save Hills, who conducted the interview

What I learned while running global funding campaigns on wadiz is that it’s important to view the entire process as an opportunity to build solid trust with our supporters,rather than getting too caught up in the ups and downs of the project results . We’ve hadbrands that wrapped up successfully, like Piccadilly, but we’ve also had brands that didn’t meet their funding goals .(Laughs)

However, even with those projects, we did our very best to ensure that the supporters who trusted us wouldn’t be disappointed with the product. Building good relationships with our supporters consistently and sincerely in that way has been a great source of strength for us up to now.

Ibelieve that our supporters’ continued curiosity—even when we launched brands other than Piccadilly—is what has allowed us to run nearly 40 funding campaigns to date. Drawing on this momentum, Save Hills will continue to strive to introduce comfortable and ethical footwear brands without chasing trends, so we ask for your continued support.

Written by Jeong So-jeong,Edited by Han Ji-hye
▶ This content was first featured on the wadiz blog. If you’re curious about more stories from the blog, check itout here!