MEDELLIN, Colombia — Colombian export and fashion institute Inexmoda plans to expand its fledgling Epica designer development scheme to Mexico and take its fashion and consulting services to Ecuador, Central America and Peru, executives said.
The organizer of textiles and fashion fairs Colombiatex and Colombiamoda, respectively, hopes the move will boost revenues 15 percent to nearly $7 million by 2019, president Carlos Eduardo Botero predicted.
“We are exploring the Mexican market to take our fashion conference and consulting business as well as to introduce Epica,” Botero said, adding that Inexmoda hosted industry conferences in Guadalajara sourcing fair Intermoda in January. It also plans to meet with top apparel trade lobby Canaive’s regional leaders in coming months. The strong dollar is prompting Mexican clothiers to ramp up U.S. exports, fueling strategic consulting opportunities, Botero added.
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Medellin-based Inexmoda also intends to muscle in Ecuador where Colombia sends much of its apparel exports, though flows recently plunged amid higher import taxes.
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“Ecuador has introduced duties to protect its economy,” Botero said. “This is giving local brands an opportunity to capture consumers in the local market and Inexmoda can help them do this.”
The fair organizer recently hosted fashion trends and business conferences in Quito and hopes to do so in Guayaquil this year.
Ecuadorian textiles firm Grupo Carolina is already using its advice to move into full-package and enlarge its retail presence in a shift beyond maquila manufacturing.
Botero said Inexmoda will continue to expand Colombiatex and Colombiamoda, which generate more than $600 million in potential sourcing revenues annually and have helped turn once drug-and-crime laden Medellin into one of Latin America’s top fashion destinations, alongside São Paulo and Buenos Aires.
In its 28th edition ending Jan. 28, Colombiatex raised $313 million in potential sourcing contracts, up 2 percent from last year, as nearly 14,000 buyers came looking for knit and warp-knit fabrics, denim and full package opportunities. Foreign shoppers rose 4 percent to 1,770, mainly from the U.S. but also from Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. Indian firms led the exhibitors’ wing, followed by Brazilian companies.
Medellin’s new mayor, Federico Gutierrez, will continue to support the textiles and fashion chain as a key city and regional growth driver, Economic Development secretary Maria Fernanda Galeano told WWD during Colombiatex.
The team intends to invest roughly $300,000 a year to develop the textiles cluster and foster entrepreneurship to bolster the industry’s contribution to the Antioquia Department to 30 percent of GDP from 24 percent currently, with jobs seen rising to 150,000 from 100,000.