J.Lo plans to boost its Colombian presence with 19 new stores

J.Lo is strengthening its presence in Colombia and expanding its network of stores. The American label arrived in multi-brand stores across the country at the end of 2015 with help from its Panamanian business partner. In 2016, the brand’s licensing deal was handed over to the Colombian group Mezanine, which already counts three J.Lo stores in the city of Cali, and predicts to open 19 new stores at the national level.

Giovani Tomasoni, manager of the J.Lo brand in Colombia, told FashionNetwork that Mezanine expects to end 2019 with 22 stores across the country and will begin its expansion in the cities of Barranquilla, Bogotá, Medellín and Bucaramanga. The brand recently inaugurated its new commercial office and showroom in the neighborhood of Santa Mónica in Cali, where it will continue to expand its network of retailers in the country.

Mezanine’s licensing deal came with a master contract for Colombia and Latin America, which means that all of its collections are designed in Colombia by a specialized team and require approval from the American team before going into production. Today, the J.Lo collections include casual and formalwear, jeans, accessories and intimates.

Of the J.Lo products sold in the country, 95 percent are made in Colombia, while 5 percent are imported from the United States and Asia. The brand produces five collections a year in Colombia, with 120,000 pieces produced for each line, adding up to more than 620,000 pieces produced a year by 200 direct and 2,000 indirect employees.

As 2017 represents the first year Mezanine has had total control of the Colombian license, the financial results have not been revealed. However, Tomasoni confirmed that the brand expects a 30 percent growth in sales across its stores by the end of the year.

J.Lo plans to boost its Colombian presence with 19 new stores

See also