European online shoe store Spartoo.com projects €100 million turnover this year

We don’t often enough shine a light on Spartoo.com, an online retailer of shoes and footwear.

This ‘Zappos of Europe’ was founded in France by three young entrepreneurs in 2006, and is now active in 20 countries, including United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

Today, the company revealed that its internationalization efforts have led to significant growth. In fact, Spartoo.com says it sold more than one million pairs of shoes in Europe in the first months of 2011 (the company offers about 15,000 models and 400 brands).

The company says it currently expects to achieve a turnover of €100 million – roughly $139 million – in 2011, an increase of almost 70 percent of its turnover in 2010 (€60 million or $83.3 million). Spartoo.com estimates employing some 150 people by the end of this year.

It’s a great example of a business that gets founded in a European country but realizes that, to make it big, one needs to operate in many more than just one. Most of its international growth has been organic, but the company also acquired rival Rubbersole.co.uk for an undisclosed sum earlier this year to make its entry into the United Kingdom.

Spartoo has raised about €17 million from a mix of French, pan-European and American investment banks – investors inlucde A Plus Finance, CM-CIC Capital Privé, Endeavour Vision and Highland Capital Partners.