Search N Design, partnering with brands to develop an innovative business model

The starting point for Search N Design is the Marche region, an area with a highly specialized ecosystem which has enabled this hub to make its expertise available to the footwear sector by bringing together creative minds and professionals. Its expertise ranges from product design, development, and engineering, to production startup and process efficiency, all the way to logistics. The aim is to create a network and synergy among companies in the area. “Our strength,” explains CEO Diego Malvestiti, “lies in coordinating the work of our clients, while taking care of all the possible problems regarding material procurement, flexibility, compliance with delivery times, and so on.” The Civitanova Marche office was founded in 2016 by Ubaldo Malvestiti, on the strength of his long-standing knowhow in the industry; he was joined later by his children, Diego and Eleonora, art director Marco Macellari and marketing manager Marco Rastelli. The office now has 35 employees and works for major international brands: these include Fear of God, Aime Leon Dorè, Pyer Moss and, the latest in chronological order, Casablanca Paris, which in 2021 chose Search N Design to create its first sneakers project after its collaborations with New Balance. In addition, Search N Design works for industrial groups such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Herno which have developed sneaker lines. While sneakers represent Search N Design’s core business, its activity also extends to formal footwear. “For our foreign clients, who are thousands of miles away,” explains Marco Macellari, “we want to be their eyes and brains, and their operational side as well. This is the reason we consider them to be not just clients, but partners in all respects.”

Alongside the big brands, Search N Design also collaborates with emerging brands that want to produce in Italy, taking advantage of the Marche region’s supply chain to guarantee manufacturing authenticity. “In fact, a further added value in the service,” continues Diego Malvestiti, “is our own smart factory with a production capacity of 200 pairs, although we also rely on other workshops. Another step was to create three proprietary brands: Hyusto, which means “right” or “well done” (a key quality of ‘made in Italy’), was born out of the need to create a comfortable and casual shoe alternative for customers who do not want to rely exclusively on sneakers; Sense of Symmetry represents a link between the past and the future, between the 90s and contemporary trends, in search of an ever-evolving style; Kansha is a product that respects the ethical values of environmental and human sustainability, minimizing its impact on the environment and safeguarding the traditions of generations of artisans who work a special yarn made from the wool of a breed of sheep found only in the Marche Apennines.” From the Marche to other regions and to the rest of the world, the step is short: the marketing plan includes opening offices in Milan and Los Angeles to serve local catchment areas of potential customers. Last but not least, an R&D unit is to be set up with the purpose of creating innovative processes and products capable of offering customers a competitive advantage.

Diego Malvestiti