Polín et Moi strengthens its physical network with a store in La Vaguada

Polín et Moi bets on physical retail in Madrid

Polín et Moi has opened a new point of sale in the La Vaguada shopping centre, in Madrid, with an opening date of last 9 September. The footwear firm thus adds one more location in the capital within a strategy that places the physical channel as one of its main growth paths, alongside the rest of the channels in which it already sells its collections.

The new establishment is designed so that customers can discover, try on and purchase the product in store, something especially relevant in a sector like footwear, where fit, size and the feeling when trying shoes on drive the purchase decision. With this opening, the brand strengthens its commercial presence in Madrid and expands its network of own points of sale.

The choice of La Vaguada is no coincidence. It is a shopping centre with several decades of activity in the city and a consolidated footfall, which allows the brand to capture recurring traffic and build brand awareness in a proximity environment.

What it means for the footwear trade

The opening of Polín et Moi in La Vaguada is part of a broader movement that various footwear and fashion brands have been executing for some time: restoring the weight of the physical point of sale as a brand showcase and as a conversion tool. After years of online momentum, many firms have understood that the digital channel works better when there is a physical network backing it, especially in categories where the product is tried on before buying.

For a multi-brand footwear store, this type of movement has two readings. The first is competitive: one more brand with its own store in a benchmark shopping centre competes directly for the same customer who walks in to buy footwear on a Saturday afternoon. The second is opportunity: brands that grow in physical retail usually also need a presence in the multi-brand channel to cover areas they do not reach with their own stores, and that is a natural territory for the wholesaler and the independent retailer.

The shopping centre as a thermometer for the sector

La Vaguada has been part of Madrid's commercial offering for decades and has seen generations of customers pass through. That a footwear firm chooses this type of location to grow says a lot about how it is reading the market: consolidated centres are prioritised, with stable traffic and a customer profile that buys footwear recurrently, over riskier bets on new locations.

In the Spanish context, footwear is going through a period of adjustment in which three realities coexist: brands expanding their physical network, others reducing points of sale and many rebalancing their mix between online, own store and multi-brand. The opening of Polín et Moi points to the first of those paths and confirms that physical retail remains a valid lever when the location is chosen well.

Implications for the wholesaler and the retailer

For a footwear wholesaler, news like this reinforces the importance of having a portfolio of brands and models that allows the retailer to compete on assortment, price and availability against brand-owned stores. The end customer who walks into La Vaguada may leave with a purchase or may end up looking for the same reference in their neighbourhood store if they find a better price or service.

• It reinforces the need for the retailer to work well on assortment and rotation, not just the brand.
• It reminds us that the physical channel still generates real traffic and conversion in footwear.
• It confirms that consolidated shopping centres remain a valid showcase for the sector.
• It forces the wholesaler to offer availability, full size range and agile replenishment.

Footwear is still sold where it is tried on. The physical store has not died: it has changed its function and its weight within each brand's strategy.

The opening of Polín et Moi in La Vaguada is, in short, one more sign that the footwear sector keeps physical retail as a key piece, combined with the rest of the channels. For the independent retailer and for the wholesaler, the reading is clear: whoever has product, size range and service still has room in the market, whether the competition is in a shopping centre or in an online store.

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