Parfois

Parfois is a Portuguese fashion-accessories brand founded in 1994 by Manuela Medeiros, who opened its first shop on Rua de Santa Catarina, one of Porto's main shopping streets. The company built its business around fast-turnaround, affordably priced bags, jewelry, sunglasses, scarves, belts, shoes and clothing, positioning itself as an accessible complement to fast-fashion clothing retailers. From its single Porto storefront, Parfois expanded into an international chain, crossing the 1,000-store threshold in September 2019 with an opening in Paris — a milestone the company highlighted as proof of its reach beyond the Portuguese and Iberian markets. It now operates in more than 70 countries, making it one of Portugal's most internationally distributed retail brands, alongside peers such as Salsa and Parfois's own countrymen in footwear and textiles. The brand's model relies on frequent product rotation and department-store concessions as well as standalone shops, a structure that let it scale quickly across diverse retail markets without the capital intensity of full clothing lines. Ownership has remained tied to its founder's original vision of Porto-designed, globally distributed accessories rather than manufacturing luxury goods domestically.