Flight of fancy: Travels and adventures of returned Cettire order

Just where online retailer Cettire’s products originate is a question that’s increasingly difficult to answer as this tale of a returned order illustrates.

A Cettire order made by David Ross of a black Polo Ralph Lauren jumper, and then returned, strangely did not find its way back to where the parcel originated.

It’s an odd tale of how a returned Cettire order zigzagged through different countries and then through Italy, shining a light on inconsistencies in the luxury retail group’s drop-shipping model.

A Cettire order made by The Australian’s David Ross of a black Polo Ralph Lauren jumper, and then returned, strangely did not find its way back to where the parcel was originated. Cettire’s model doesn’t see it store inventory or stock, with ordered products shipped directly to customers by third-party luxury goods wholesalers it has relationships with.

Cettire doesn’t disclose how many suppliers it has, and not a lot is known about its distribution.

DHL shipping and tracking information suggested Ross’s Cettire order began its journey to Australia from fashion store Bellettini, about an hour and 20 minutes north of Rome. Bellettini – founded in 1978 – has 14 boutiques in central Italy.

From there, the package travelled to a DHL facility in Rome, which makes sense, before it took a rather roundabout trip to Sydney. First via Leipzig, an industrial city in Germany, then to Hong Kong.

It wasn’t long before the package was with Australian customs clearance and a Sydney DHL ­facility, ahead of being pushed out for delivery to inner-city suburb Redfern.

All up, the order took about four days to arrive – an efficient outcome. As part of this experiment, though, it was decided the jumper should be returned, with a view to meeting Cettire’s 14-day refund policy, meaning the parcel had to be picked up by the shipping company within that time frame.

Ross initiated the return online with Cettire and DHL collected the package a few days later.

He also noticed Cettire had not issued a tax invoice with his order so promptly requested one, which took six days to arrive.

Cettire told Ross the company, which says it doesn’t directly handle orders, would need seven days to check the return with its supplier before issuing a refund.

The parcel was then on its way to a DHL facility in Sydney and not long after another facility in Singapore. By this stage, it was clear it was headed back via a different route.

Next stop was small Arab state Bahrain, before the parcel was dispatched to Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, one of the few overlapping points between the order’s arrival and return routes.

From there the jumper traversed to Milan-Malpensa airport in northern Italy, and a main international gateway to the city. Then it popped up at a DHL facility not far from Milan’s designer shopping mecca.

It’s from there the parcel’s trajectory got interesting. The order was dispatched out to a courier and at that point DHL’s tracking ended with a reference to delivery in Milan. The parcel then resumed its journey, though, and headed about 45 minutes northwest of Milan, not south, as ­expected.

Cettire’s website offers buyers the opportunity to purchase high-end fashion labels like Ralph Lauren. Picture: Bloomberg

The Australian’s tracking next showed the parcel at a warehouse in the Lazzate municipality.

Cettire confirmed after publication that the parcel was received by a logistics warehouse in the municipality, close to where The Australian’s tracking showed.

After several days in that location, the curious route got even more perplexing. The parcel made its way back southwest of Milan and ended up at another warehouse-looking building.

Remember, this is nowhere near Bellettini – the claimed starting point of the Cettire order, which is closer to Rome. How can the order be checked to facilitate a refund?

The order then navigated the A1 highway southbound. Maybe it was headed to Bellettini?

No, it wasn’t. The final tracking point was about an hour and a half northwest of Rome and a two-minute drive – or 12-minute walk – from Bellettini’s store.

A Cettire spokeswoman said, however, the parcel ended up in its intended location with the supplier, without naming the company.

Cettire was asked if there was any reason a returned parcel would not end up back where it originated.

The spokeswoman said all products were returned to the original supplier. “The particular logistics flow will be determined with each individual supplier, which can include the supplier nominating a designated return location, which may be a different physical address from where the product was originally sent,” she said.

Cettire chief executive Dean Mintz.

But The Australian’s tracking put the final address for the Ross’s parcel, which on Google Maps looks like a house, at a business called Cecchini Agricoltura. Asked to comment on whether the company had any links to Cettire, a representative said: “We are resellers of both wood and pellet stoves. We have a large showroom.”

When contacted by The Australian, a Bellettini representative said the company could not provide any information, and then refused to answer any questions about whether it was a supplier to Cettire.

The Cettire spokeswoman said the company had “strict mutual confidentiality clauses” in agreements with suppliers. “Supplier information is limited to those (within Cettire) who need to know in order to fulfil their roles.”

While Ross’s refund was forthcoming – not including Cettire’s $30 return fee and initial shipping charge – back onto his credit card, he was $60 poorer due to the experiment.

Originally published as Flight of fancy: Travels and adventures of returned Cettire order