With an investment of 20 million dollars, which will be invested in two phases over the next 2 years, the Colombian company Akmios accompanies the arrival in Colombia of its new children's clothing brand Epeka.
For Samuel Tcherassi, CEO of Akmios, this commitment is in line with the growth of the children's clothing segment, which has increased by 9% in the last 10 years.
(Requests from the textile sector for the reactivation of the industry).
“We see a great opportunity for growth and formalization of the business and that is why we launched this commitment, which includes an expansion plan for the brand with the opening of 40 stores in the next 18 months, in cities such as Cali, Barranquilla, Medellín, Bucaramanga and Cúcuta,” Tcherassi told Portfolio.
As he explains, in the first phase of investment, 12 million dollars will be allocated, of which 2 million dollars have been for market studies, and the rest for changes in store infrastructure, among others. In the second phase, 8 million dollars will be distributed over the next 2 years to strengthen the brand, sales channels and finance expansion.
“We are making a solid commitment to promote, in a first phase, the Colombian children's clothing market, contributing all our experience in the sector. Our purpose is to continue generating employment and making investments that allow us to leverage the expansion strategy in Colombia and in the world, through physical and digital channels,” said Samuel Tcherassi.
OMNICHANNEL SALES
Although the launch of the brand brings the opening of 40 stores, the new reality and the changes in post-Covid consumption dynamics led to increased investments to expand the capacity of the eCommerce platform .
In addition, they seek to consolidate their marketing and trade strategy to reach the public through all means of contact.
('Fashion spending is already 4% above 2019').
"With these launches and the strengthening of our face-to-face and omnichannel sales model, our goal is to participate in 25% of the formal market in the sector in the country by the end of 2022," said the CEO of Akmios.
Another objective in the medium term is that 30% of Epeka's production be manufactured in Colombia.
“We are in the process of contracting maquilas for those products that the local market can manufacture. In five years we hope to export to Mexico, Brazil and Spain”, says Tcherassi.
The official launch of Epeka will be on November 17, and will be headed by the general manager of the brand, Gael Estublier, which will take place at the El Retiro Shopping Center in Bogotá.
(The legal messes between businessmen continue due to the EPK brand).
“We believe in Colombia, in its process of economic reactivation and we will continue to contribute to its development hand in hand with our collaborators and with the full support of the country's financial system which, together with all the actors that are part of our value chain, will generate development and will inject dynamism into the sector for the benefit of customers”, concluded Samuel Tcherassi.
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