Think of Boston-based footwear brands — Converse, New Balance, Reebok — and what comes to mind are shoes you would wear to a pickup basketball game or a 10K. Ben Fischman, a serial entrepreneur who started the cap retailer Lids and the "flash sale" site Rue La La, wants to change that. His latest venture, M. Gemi, will sell Italian-made women's shoes better suited for gallery openings and charity balls.
M. Gemi is the first new venture from Fischman's startup factory, Launch, located in the Landmark Center, a few blocks away from Fenway Park. M. Gemi has so far raised $14 million from the Cambridge venture capital firm General Catalyst; Boston-based Breakaway Ventures; and Forerunner Ventures in San Francisco.
Initially, the company will sell only women's shoes in the $200 to $300 price range; most will be made in limited runs and available for no more than three months.
"What we realized is that if a woman wants to be able to buy a pair of gorgeous, handmade Italian shoes, that was between $500 and $2,000," Fisch-man said.
He noticed that over the last 25 years all the manufacturers who used to produce shoes in Italy left to start producing in Asia and elsewhere. "The high-end luxury brands were all that was left in Italy. So we felt that created white space for us," Fischman said. Although women were aware of the luxury shoe brands, "the prices are high enough that they don't buy or don't buy very often," he said.
Selling directly to consumers will allow M. Gemi to offer similar merchandise at lower prices. The company has an office in Florence to establish and manage relationships with shoe manufacturers, Fischman said.
Unlike such shoe sites as Zappos or Shoebuy, M. Gemi will launch a new collection each week and then yank the products 12 weeks later.
Fischman said he will serve as M. Gemi's chief executive "for the foreseeable future." The company's name refers to Maria Gangemi, the former Rue La La footwear executive who is now the chief merchant for M. Gemi.
Scott Kirsner can be reached at kirsner@pobox.com.