Alohas is stepping on the gas, both in sales and physical expansion. The Spanish company headed by Alejandro Porras, CEO and founder, closed the 2025 financial year with €45 million euros in turnover, which represents a year-on-year growth of nearly 32%, after having recorded sales of €34 million in 2024. Looking ahead to the coming months, the footwear company also has new openings in strategic locations such as New York and Madrid on its radar.
“We are very happy”, summarizes to Modaes Alejandro Porras, who frames the last year as a step forward, assuring that “the company has matured a lot”. The turn, he explains, is not to abandon the digital origin of the project, but to complete the model with stores where the brand was already in demand, especially online.
The leap to the physical channel started in 2024, when the company born in 2015, in Hawaii, lived “the first adventure with retail” in a close triangle, with physical facilities in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris. After that first apprenticeship, Alohas decided to expand the map a few months later. “In 2025, we have already dared to continue in more distant cities, but super important for us, always following our online sales,“ says the entrepreneur.
In recent months, the company opened its own stores in Milan, Amsterdam, New York, London and Copenhagen, consolidating a selective network through the retail channel. Porras, who initially built his on-demand footwear sales model on online, today insists on the value of face-to-face with the customer. “Being able to meet and get to know our customers and serve them in their cities directly is tremendously valuable; not only do we sell more, but we operate with more information,“ he says. The store, he adds, accelerates brand awareness in markets where there was already a digital and wholesale base.
Alohas prioritizes the U.S. in 2026 and signs another store in New York
The U.S. market is the centerpiece of the plan. “The United States is our main market for us and where we have the most customers,“ says Porras, arguing that his plan has gone ahead regardless of the political developments ahead and the complex macroeconomic context. In its current picture, the distribution of sales is approximately 50% in the United States and 40% in Europe. Within the continent, there is no winning country: the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France share the weight, he says.
The company has already signed a second store in New York, on Bleecker Street, scheduled to open in the spring, between March and April. From there, Alohas wants to move on to “the main cities in the United States,“ says the CEO, citing cities such as Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago, although he has not yet set a definite timetable. “It’s much better to follow your customers and open where they are,“ he says of his strategy. In logistics, Alohas manages shipments from Spain.
The impact of the store, he defends, does not stay in the local checkout and does not imply the cannibalization of online. “Many people knew about us but had not dared to buy; now they walk past the store, recognize the brand, try on the shoes and see the quality,“ the executive reflects. In this process, the physical channel works as a test and as a showcase. Therefore, his reading is that retail adds up, especially in a company with sales spread over many markets. “We are a brand that sells little in many places,“ he says.
In any case, the company maintains ecommerce as a base. “The core is online,“ says Porras, who stresses its weight in profitability and learning as the channel that best allows them to understand customers and sustain the on-demand model.
The brand led by Alejandro Porras already operates a network of 600 wholesale points of sale
The third pillar is wholesale, with a less visible role, but relevant in terms of capillarity. Porras applies a two-pronged strategy that consists of positioning the brand in emblematic points in large cities and maintaining a presence in places where “a store will never open”. In terms of volume, he estimates a presence in “around 600” points of sale. The objective is not to fatten that figure or “grow in quantity”, but to “cure the points”, improve the experience and work “on quality with a lot of collaboration”.
In terms of distribution by channels, the executive puts the current mix at an approximate balance of 40% retail sales, 30% online and 30% wholesale. He also projects a similar evolution towards 2030. However, Porras sees this as a guide, not a closed commitment, in an environment where openings depend on real estate opportunities and the pace of each location.
The on-demand model, he recalls, requires innovation and a lot of explanation to the consumer. Alohas has invested “a lot in technology” to automate processes and adapt tools that, by default, do not contemplate this type of business. In stores, he admits, the adoption of on-demand is lower than online, but he assures that it has surprised them “more than expected”.
In terms of product, the company remains focused. “Right now we are 50% footwear, 50% sneakers,“ Porras explains. The company will continue to invest in the sneaker category and argues that the customer continues to look for “the next sneaker” and “the next niche brand” to become popular. As an additional step, Alohas wants to test a new category. “We want to do some tests with handbags,“ the entrepreneur advances, leaving behind his brief foray through ready-to-wear.
In Europe, Porras is particularly satisfied with Paris, to the point of considering a second store if the right location becomes available. In Spain, the ambition for the year is Madrid, where Alohas is actively searching for the optimal location that will become its second store in the capital. On the horizon, the company envisions a two-pronged growth plan, with a focus on the United States and Europe, while continuing to open stores where performance has already been proven.
