In Peques and Más we bring you a interview with Juan Sainz, co-founder of Papatua, a clothing brand for the whole family that sells over the Internet. Juan explains to us what can be found in Papatua, what conditions they offer, the characteristics of the product and also Juan is encouraged to explain his vision of what is the current situation of electronic commerce in Spain and the opportunities it offers.
What is Papatua?
Papatua is a new brand of clothing and accessories that was born on the internet. For now we are 100% internet and our growth we want to focus on online sales. In any case, we do not rule out selling in the medium term to retail stores.
Why do you sell combined swimsuits between fathers / mothers and sons / daughters
We thought that to be born as a new brand in this sector as competitive as textile and in a market with big competitors such as fashion, we had to offer something distinctive and distinctive. We have observed that there are hardly any brands that offer the same swimsuit for parents and children and therefore we have decided to start this adventure with this hallmark, that of being a brand aimed at the family. We have also searched for a name and a “lively” logo, which will reflect a vivid image, associated with color, with a fun and friendly point while something “roars”. We think that an image of a cockatoo is well associated with the image we want to give. We have also played a little with the words "potatoes" and "cockatoo" and we have reached the trade name "Papatua". We therefore think that the name and logo is valid for children, but also for adults.
What is the main differentiation of Papatua and why you have to buy on your site
We believe that the differentiation is that Papatua since its birth is thinking of the families that want some of its members to wear the same clothes. In addition the quality - price binomial we think is very good. Our strategy is not to sell at low prices. Our strategy is to sell quality and design at very competitive prices.
We also believe that we have to buy in Papatua because it is a brand that transmits family values and unity always necessary in any area of our lives.
In addition, we not only want to sell to families (father and children), we want a person who buys for example a Papatua polo shirt to buy a product that conveys joy and happiness. It is something that "transfers" to the garment itself.
What is the origin of the products sold in Papatua and what materials are used
The origin is national. The fabrics we need to make the clothes we make (for example, swimsuits) are bought from Spanish suppliers that manufacture most of what they have in Spain. The products we do not make are also purchased from Spanish suppliers. The materials are of high quality. We use for example from 100% cotton to 100% polyester in bathing suits and some of them are combinations of these materials.
You plan to make a promotion in summer
For now there is nothing planned. Anyway, we do plan to offer discount coupons to the first customers who buy us for their second purchases and for those who want to promote us on blogs or other information websites.
You have more projects on the Internet besides Papatua
We have a previous experience with Palomitta.com which is the online store of Paloma Moda Infantil, a store in Madrid that has been selling fashion for the smallest of the house for more than 40 years
How much swimsuits cost including shipping costs and what is the accepted payment method
The price of swimwear for children is 29 euros. The price of swimwear for adults is 39 euros. Shipping costs to Spain (peninsula) are 6 euros per shipment. From 65 euros per order shipping costs are free.
The default payment method is by credit card. We use paypal as a "payment gateway" but customers do not need to be paypal customers to buy in Papatua. With a credit or debit card, they can buy whatever they want. We also accept to pay through bank transfer.
What are the delivery / return conditions and how long it takes to get the order home
Once the order has been paid (if it is done through a credit card, it is automatic and if it is made through a transfer it will take one or two days to show the deposit), the order will usually be at the shipping address in a shorter period 5 business days (work). If we do not have in stock and someone wants to make an order for a swimsuit that we can make because we have more fabric available in our workshop, we can take between 10 and 15 days to send it and deliver it to the shipping address. For returns customers who are not satisfied with their order, have 10 days to return it in its original packaging from the date they received the order.
In the event that the return is possible, the payment of the purchase price of the products will be made by providing a gift card or discount code of the same amount to be able to buy any other product or products from our online store as soon as we have received the order to be returned and we have confirmed that it meets our minimum return requirements. The returns will not be effective if the products have been used, if the products are customized or are orders, if the order is not in the same conditions as when it was sent and in case of opening of the original packaging. Buyers should only bear the shipping costs of returning the products. If the product is defective, the return shipping costs will be at our expense and the total cost of the order will be fully refunded.
Bitcoin is a currency that works on the Internet, can you already pay with bitcoins in Papatua?
Not yet. But we do not rule out being able to accept bitcoins in Papatua. In fact, in another online store that we have, we do accept them. We think that far from seeing virtual currencies something unsafe or threatening to trade on the Internet, is another alternative and another reference that must be taken into account in the future.
How is the situation of distance shopping in Spain and what is the future of electronic commerce in Spain
The situation of Internet sales has been improving and increasing for several years now.
The fears of a while ago begin to disappear but I think there is still a long way to go, especially in Spain. The future is very hopeful. Above all, it is that practically everyone who wants to sell something must have an Internet presence if they want to do it. It's like a few years ago with credit cards in stores. Businesses that have not accepted credit cards for many years will have lost many sales and have seen their viability threatened. Today who is not on the Internet will be difficult to keep only with the sale in "physical" stores.
The bad thing is that for small businesses and for small online stores, the competition is much tougher than the competition between physical stores. The physical proximity and the treatment to the client in a personal way (with the dependent or the owner of the whole life of a certain store or commerce) practically disappear on the internet. That is, people are just a click away from buying for example in Zara or Papatua. In addition, the investment that large companies can make to be visible on the internet makes it impossible for you to compete between small and large. Therefore, for children as always, the strategy is to offer something that others do not offer and, above all, do everything very well. Differentiation is key to first survive on the internet and second to try to grow. A customer for a small online store is a greater treasure than for a large e-commerce store since the latter has thousands or millions of customers. The little ones think we have our space and our space. I think you have to look for a small niche market to exploit on the internet and from there grow in a sustainable way. Also, looking outside our borders is key to staying. Internet reduces many barriers to entry that must be exploited. International growth must be in the minds of the managers of any online sales business. In addition, the cost of selling outside Spain has been greatly reduced with the internet. You have to take advantage of it.
Finally, the Internet allows you to seasonally adjust your sales. That is, we are theoretically born with a collection of swimsuits. Our products therefore seem to have a short sale period during the year. But the internet allows you to sell to places where it is hot throughout the year (for example the Canary Islands) and sell to countries with different spring and summer seasons than we have in Spain, for example countries in Latin America. We do not want to have a quarter of excessively high sales over others, as could be the case in the toy sector during the last quarter of the year, with Christmas as its period of greatest sales with a lot of difference.
Therefore, although Papatua will evidently have a strong sales period for the spring and summer months for now, we do not want the sales differences during the year to be excessive and for this we see in the internationalization of the project how to sell suits bathroom throughout the year.
How retail in Spain will have to evolve so as not to be left out of the growing use of the Internet
Retail in Spain is in a moment of depression that puts any business that focuses on it in a situation of constant alarm. Retail trade in Spain has been in sales for more than 30 consecutive months, with more than 55 consecutive months destroying employment. With this panorama it is more than difficult and I would almost say that it is an almost impossible mission to be able to survive in this sector. In any case, it is not enough to complain or resign. You have to work like never before to sell. You always have to be close to the customer and their needs but at this time it becomes even more essential. You have to put facilities and know your target audience very well. Sometimes it is not a matter of lowering the price, vice versa, you can keep your prices and even raise them as long as what you offer is differential and your target audience can pay it.
On the other hand we have to encourage the purchase and sale of products and services online from all areas (administrations, businessmen, unions, employees, etc.) to see on the Internet a way out of the crisis. We must give a lot of training from within companies, promote electronic commerce from any administration, from employment offices, from chambers of commerce, etc. Internet is a tool that if used well is the solution to many of our problems. It's like having a knife for cooking. If you use it well, it is another tool that will help you make a perfect dish. But as you start using it and doing it wrong, you can even cut a finger. In short, what I am going to do is that you have to take advantage of the internet, lose your fear of buying and selling on the internet, do things right, put in place effective security measures, give a safe web image for electronic commerce, adapt the models from business to the new reality and finally have an open mind and adapted to constant change.
With this background, retail in Spain must trace and see on the Internet the place where you can begin to trace the flight. The key to achieve it, I insist that it is in education and training from school to courses for all people.
Education and training for everything is essential, therefore for retail (entrepreneurs, employees, customers, suppliers, etc.) it is also.
And here the interview with Juan Sainz, co-founder of Papatua In addition to his work in these stores on the Internet, he is extremely active on the Internet, generating high quality content. Juan began in May 2008 to regularly write a blog related to financial markets and finance in general on juanst.com. Also since September 2009 he collaborates and writes in Gurusblog, one of the reference blogs in Spain on economics and finance. We thank Juan for the time he has dedicated to us in Peques and Más to present and explain the main lines of Papatua. We wish him many successes and we leave the doors open for him to comment on any new e-commerce projects related to children and the family.
