Every year, in the 30 days leading up to Christmas, we optimize our schedules like Tetris blocks to meet with family, friends, and colleagues to exchange the customary greetings.
Every evening a party!
To avoid falling into the trap of monotony and to show up to the last appointment with the same enthusiasm as the first day, we range from the “reinforced” aperitif to the themed dinner!
We gorge, drink, have fun, but... when finally... the infamous moment of exchanging gifts arrives...
As if by magic, already after opening the second package, all the enthusiasm we had managed to accumulate during the evening suddenly disappears...
But how is it possible that a person who knows me so well gave me such rubbish! We grew up together... they know my tastes!
You focus, muster your best hysterical-forced laugh, hug your friend, and head home, postponing the necessary comments until you get back in the car with your partner.
What I’ve summarized in a few lines happens to all of us every year with about 77% of the gifts we receive! (..statistics speak clearly!)
So what to do?
Believe it or not, this has deeply troubled me for years and I’m trying to give my contribution to humanity by channeling a significant part of my energies into solving this long-standing problem...
Fully aware that it was not a radical solution to the problem but rather a simple soothing action, in 2011, together with my dear friend Gianni, we launched the first online barter site in Italy: soloscambio.it (later becoming swapick.com to be more suitable for foreign expansion... but that’s another story and I don’t want to bore you with my memories of an evaporated childhood)
We wanted to prevent unwanted gifts from rotting in the various cellars and attics across the country, and Soloscambio.it allowed us to give new life to these objects.
Starting from the sacred premise that it’s quite difficult for an object to be terrible in absolute terms... It’s more realistic to think that there is at least one individual who might appreciate what others find appalling...
The important thing, as always, is to be able to connect supply and demand!
I don’t want to bore you by revealing the details of the algorithm we gradually perfected... however, we managed to ensure that each user was only offered exchanges in line with their interests and as a result, most exchange proposals on our site were accepted! (some users surpassed 1000 exchanges!)
In the following years, I had the opportunity to analyze an enormous amount of data...
What gets recycled the most (I won’t tell you how many unwanted gifts were added every January), what is liked, what is not liked, who likes what, etc...
I tried to put together all this information with the ambition of finding the recipe for the “perfect gift”
... And the answer is as obvious as it is simple!
The perfect gift is the one that matches the recipient’s taste...
But then why, if we know the tastes of our relatives and friends well, do we make 77% of our gift purchases incorrectly on average?
On the barter site, we managed to have most proposals accepted simply because, knowing the interests of each user, the algorithm prevented them from being “spammed” with offers of items not in line with their tastes!
So I said to myself... Now that I know exactly the recipe for the “perfect gift”...
All that’s left is to invent the “Perfect Gift”... The Gift That No One Will Recycle...
Hi! I’m Luca Radici and in 2020 I founded Individual Socks! (which actually benefited from over 5 years of experience I had with Soxplay, but that’s another story...)
WHO WE TARGET...
Let’s start by clarifying who we DO NOT target...
We do not target those who think of gifts as... something to be done, an “inevitable hassle”... A bit like going to the dentist...
I created this brand to help people find the “Perfect Gift”...
The one that no one would ever want to recycle!
So, what are the ingredients for a “Perfect Gift”?
It must be targeted!It must make you live an experience!There are lots of people who enjoy giving unexpected gifts...
gifts not necessarily tied to a particular occasion...
gifts that are inevitably received with immense joy, surprise, and emotion by anyone who receives them!
Gifts made “with the heart”...
And we address exactly these people! Those who, like you, enjoy giving something special to those close to them!
One of these people is my wife... a respected professional but also a sweet and caring mother and a patient and understanding partner.
Like most women, she has to juggle a thousand priorities...
Too many things to do and... very little time available!
I often see her late at night browsing here and there looking for a “thought” for someone who may have done her a kindness or as a gesture of affection towards a loved one.
Do you know what happens most of the time?
Despite the endless options available online, choosing the “right” gift turns out to be an odyssey... one click after another without adding anything to the cart because she doesn’t want to settle for a generic or banal gift...
And since there is no strict deadline dictated by a specific occasion, she postpones the search and...
postpone today... postpone tomorrow... that commendable thought risks remaining hidden under the list of countless “things to do”...
And who knows how many other people, like my wife, encounter the same difficulties every day...
This made me reflect...
Why does my wife always manage to find amazing restaurants where we can have fun together, corners of paradise where we can spend our vacations, exhibitions of emerging artists that leave you speechless...
But she can’t find the gift she was looking for with the same ease?
When I was a child, I remember...
We went to the restaurant to eat well; today you go to the restaurant to eat well, but above all... to live an experience...
We went on vacation to relax; today you go on vacation to relax, but above all... to live an experience...
And when you have to buy a gift? Is there someone who makes you live an experience?
So I tried to piece together all the puzzle pieces...
Despite the world being flooded with products of every type and kind...
There is no object - accessible to everyone - that makes you live an experience...
So I decided to create a new brand that wouldn’t be limited to a simple product like all the others... but rather...
A useful and sophisticated object where every single detail must be designed to ensure a unique and unforgettable purchase and usage experience.
The Best Gift That Any Man or Woman Would Love to Receive!
But why not treat yourself to a little “pampering” too?
There’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself for achieving an important milestone or simply for the pleasure of indulging.
Treating yourself to something new from time to time is a gesture of gratitude towards ourselves, a way to celebrate our daily efforts.
AND SO I CREATED INDIVIDUAL SOCKS.
It is not a standardized and pre-packaged object...
But rather a magical combination, to make the experience of those who buy and receive the socks unforgettable.
AND TO BE MORE SPECIFIC...
Let’s start with the product...
A unique and personalized object:
Men's, women's, and children's socks 100% Made in Italy, selectable individually so that you can compose each pair with your initialsPersonalized with embroidered initials placed - clearly visible - above the heelEnhanced with tailoring details, handcrafted “like they used to be”AND THEN WHAT ELSE DO WE OFFER...
An integral part of our product is the Packaging...
Our socks are Hand-Packaged in recyclable PET transparent jars with aluminum lids to preserve the softness of our socks and protect them from any external elements that could damage them.
To further enhance the “unboxing” experience and ensure it crystallizes in the mind of the person unwrapping the socks, it is possible to further embellish the product by adding:
Elegant Wooden Boxes“Sweet” metal heart-shaped boxes containing the same initials as the socks made in fine Belgian chocolateHandwritten greeting card with a wax seal personalized with the same initials as the socksWE STAND OUT FROM ALL THE OTHERS FOR...
A Personalized Product but «Ready To Buy», meaning without the long waits that often come with personalizationsExclusive Packaging, enhanced by hand-packagingTotal control over distribution and prices (our socks are only sold in top-tier boutiques and on our e-commerce to avoid “out-of-control” discounts that risk diluting the product’s exclusivity)AND TO CONCLUDE...
We Refund you 100% of what you spent if the gift is not appreciated or if for any reason you change your mindWe Endeavor to help those in need by donating socks to a Charity in Asmara, Eritrea (perhaps you didn’t know that socks are the most coveted product by the homeless).We Guarantee passion and commitment to ensure an unforgettable experience for both those who buy and those who receive the socks! Who can boast a track record with 97% satisfied customers?You deserve the best! and we are here to offer it to you.
OK... Stop for a second...
What you just read... is what my copywriters wrote...
And it’s basically all true and correct...
In fact...
I launched this brand because I have a visceral hatred for all waste;the product is meticulously curated, handcrafted with excellent materials, personalized, and hand-packaged;it is very much appreciated as a gift and by anyone who uses it (this is also confirmed by the reviews and the fact that very often those who receive them as gifts then repurchase them).Moreover, we have chosen to target an extremely sophisticated and rightly demanding customer and we cannot afford to disappoint their expectations with a product and service that do not meet their very high standards!
But in reality, there is something more... something that I can’t grasp by rereading what I read above.
Let me explain better and tell you more about myself.
I will never stop thanking my mother and father for 2 very precious lessons and... (it seems incredible...) an advertisement for Porsche that I read in "Quattroruote" when I was a kid.
My mother always repeated to me, “The best judge of yourself is you!” and my father instead: “Doing things well or doing them poorly takes more or less the same time... so it’s better to do them well from the start!”
And the Porsche ad?
A single image and just under 3 lines of text that left an indelible imprint on my mind:
A middle-aged man was driving relaxed in the third lane in his Porsche Carrera. Suddenly a Punto flashed its lights and honked to tell him to move over. And he, with a satisfied smile, moved to the second lane knowing he still had 4000 RPMs at his disposal while the other was traveling at the limit of the "red" at 7000 RPMs, risking blowing up the engine.
This advertisement and my parents' teachings have etched 3 fundamental principles into my mind:
Always be critical of ourselves,Pay attention to every detail with meticulous precisionAlways have a secret weapon (like the 4000 RPMs of the Porsche) to use when needed to excel.Armed with these teachings, I began my journey.
I have always given my best, both in school and at work, but often I found myself having to submit to the will of a boss deaf to my arguments. I felt I was worth more than him, (or at least that I had dedicated more energy to deepening that specific problem and consequently, I knew more about it than him) but I had to accept his directives even if I didn’t agree with them at all.
And this situation was eating me up, I felt like I was in a golden cage. How could I give up a salary that many considered "irreplaceable" (with a family and 2 mortgages to pay)? I swallowed bitter pills of compromise and changed jobs every three years, hoping things would get better.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, I was offered a position with an even more "irreplaceable" salary, but with a project that seemed almost unachievable.
Maybe deep down I already knew that this move would represent the bridge to realizing my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
So, without thinking too much, I accepted the job. However, after just six months, the project didn’t take off, the brand closed, and I was fired.
It was February 14th and the following week lockdown would begin... but I didn’t know that yet...
It was time to show myself how much I was really worth...
I worked on my new project 17 hours a day, earned nothing, and was investing all my savings to manage the startup phase.
Moments of discouragement were a daily occurrence... the lockdown had ended, but the recession period was not helping, quite the opposite...
I interacted daily with stores in extreme difficulty due to the economic and social situation caused by the recent pandemic, and they didn’t feel like trusting a new project even though they found it very interesting.
I regretted when I had a secure salary and had to manage brands with consolidated revenues... the problems that once seemed enormous to me... were nothing compared to the situation I was living now...
I had to take care of everything... strategy, operations, balancing the books, but above all... finding customers at a time when no one wanted to buy...
The temptation to give up everything and go back to working for someone was very strong... I couldn’t afford to “play entrepreneur” without results... My self-esteem had plummeted... I felt like a good-for-nothing!
Until...
The first store agreed to buy my brand! Although it was a modest order... I had never experienced such joy in my life (apart from when my son was born!) I had finally managed to create something concrete and convince someone to buy it... All the efforts, disappointments, and sacrifices took a back seat... I was so proud that I couldn’t wait to show it to the whole world.
I wore my personalized socks every day and was proud to show off my initials! As if those initials were a declaration of success, of finally having reached an important milestone...
It’s hard to explain...
In my mind, a strange mechanism had kicked in...
That is... if before I was always looking for a prestigious brand to confirm my status, now I had found an object that put ME first and allowed me to associate my "personal brand" with prestigious brands. A bit like putting my signature on a beautiful painting!
Now you understand why I never wanted to embroider the Individual Socks logo on the socks?
Because it would have overshadowed the "personal brand" of the wearer.
Certainly a bold and courageous choice... but extremely consistent with the values of our brand, whose sole purpose is to be a vehicle to highlight those who wear our socks and offer them a distinctive element that, with extreme grace and refinement, can help emphasize their style.
Many judge me a madman! They absolutely do not agree with my decision not to put a logo on the product but only to embroider the initials of the wearer.
They will copy you! they keep repeating to me...
They are probably right... it’s true... they will copy me... in fact... someone has already tried to do so... but what they don’t understand is that this is absolutely not a problem!
No one wants to stand out wearing a copy... no one wants to convey their personal brand through a fake and no one wants to give a fake to a loved one...
...and if someone wants to...
they certainly do not reflect the mentality and status of those who proudly wear Individual Socks and are much more consistent in turning to a copy...