Dubai: The Abraaj Group, through its Funds has acquired a significant minority stake in Capa de Ozono (CDO), a fashion footwear designer, distributor and retailer in Mexico.
Capa de Ozono was established in 1992 in the state of Guanajuato, the capital of the footwear industry in Mexico, and today has 207 stores in more than 50 cities, including the six largest, as well as more than 300 wholesale clients and an online retail presence.
The family-owned company caters to teenagers and young adults in men’s and women’s footwear fashion. The footwear sector in Mexico is projected to grow 8 per cent over the next five years, driven by demographic factors and growth in disposable income.
Abraaj and CDO’s management team will focus on capturing new revenue opportunities by expanding the number of stores and diversifying product categories and business lines.
“We believe this is an opportune time to enter the apparel and footwear retail market in Mexico, which is enjoying high levels of growth as a result of strong consumer demand from the growing middle class. Capa de Ozono is a leading affordable fashion footwear brand targeted at young adults between the ages of 15 – 35. Through a multi-channel approach from offline to online, the Company has built a strong sustainable model and enjoys a loyal customer base,” said Miguel Ángel Olea, Partner and Regional Head of Latin America at Abraaj,
Abraaj has a strong track record of investing in the retail sector globally, including in Iasacorp, a regional leader in the women’s accessories sector in Latin America, D1, a Colombian hard discount retail store chain, and Hepsiburada, the market leader in the Turkish online retail sector.
Abraaj has invested in the Pacific Alliance countries of Colombia, Mexico and Peru since 2008 across a range of sectors including retail, tourism, technology, food and beverage and consumer goods.
