Alpargatas Argentina
| File:Alpargatas logo.png | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| BCBA: ALPA MERVAL component | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | (1885) |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires |
Key people | Márcio Luiz Simões Utsch, President Cristino Javier Goñi, COO |
| Products | Textiles Footwear Home decor Retail sales |
| Revenue |  US$ 283 million (2011)[1] |
| US$ 4 million (2011) | |
| Total assets | US$ 195 million (12/2011)[1] |
Number of employees | 4,000 |
| Parent | Alpargatas S.A. |
| Website | www.alpargatas.com.ar |
Alpargatas Argentina is the leading textile manufacturer in Argentina, as well as a major local distributor and exporter.
Overview
The shoe-making expertise of Juan Echegaray, a Basque Argentine immigrant, and the textile engineering background of Robert Fraser, a Scottish Argentine immigrant, created a partnership in 1883 for the manufacture of espadrilles (jute-soled canvas footwear favored by laborers for their comfort, durability and low cost). These shoes' Spanish-language name, Alpargatas, inspired the company's name, Sociedad Anónima Fábrica Argentina de Alpargatas, upon its incorporation in 1885.[2]
Demand for the unassuming footwear grew with the wave of immigration in Argentina during the 1880s, and by 1890, Alpargatas had established a facility in neighboring Uruguay. The fast-growing textile industry led to its diversification into yarn in 1892, and by 1907, a facility was opened in São Paulo, Brazil. The company's growth allowed it to develop larger facilities in 1928 occupying a city block in Buenos Aires' southside Barracas section. This facility began making vulcanized rubber sole shoes in the 1930s under the supervision of engineer Luis Pastorino.
Alpargatas relocated its manufacturing facilities to the southern suburb of Florencio Varela in 1950. This new, 70,000 m² (740,000 ft²) facility allowed it to diversify its product line, leading to the launching of Flecha, its casual footwear brand, in 1962. The establishment of a cotton gin in Sáenz Peña, a town in northern Argentina, allowed Alpargatas to manufacture denim in 1968, allowing it to take advantage to fashion trends in that direction, and a new plant in Aguilares, Tucumán, allowed it to create its Pampero children's footwear line in 1972.[2]
The company's 1975 launch of an athletic shoe line created what became perhaps its most durable brand name in Argentina: Topper. A new plant in Catamarca led to another commercial success, the Palette home fabrics line. The group expanded into banking in 1978 with the acquisition of a 50% stake in the Banco Francés, a small financial institution which grew from 15 to 62 branches when the company sold its stake to local venture capitalist Eduardo Constantini in 1991.[3]
The longtime CEO of Alpargatas, Eduardo Oxenford, was appointed to head federal receivership of the Argentine Industrial Union after the March 1976 coup. He was named Minister of Industry by the administration of General Roberto Viola in 1981, quitting however within months over policies that adversely affected industry.[4]
Alpargatas began making PVC-soled footwear in 1983, and in 1987, it secured the country's sole license to manufacture Nike shoes. The growing incidence of imports in the local apparel and footwear market during the 1990s prompted the company to open its first factory outlet stores in 1995, and in 1998, it established Dialog, a logistics company, for its transport and warehousing needs.[2]
The company's São Paulo facilities were acquired by Brazilian investors in the 1980s, and in 2008, this entity, Alpargatas S.A. or SPASA, bought a 35% stake in Alpargatas Argentina.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Información Financiera. Estado Contable Anual (Resumido). Alpargatas S.A.I. y C." CNV.
- ^ a b c Alpargatas: history
- ^ Banco Francés: historia Template:Es icon
- ^ Schneider, Ben Ross (2004). Business Politics and the State in Twentieth-Century Latin America. Cambridge University Press. p. 266.
- ^ CNV: Alpargatas (balance consolidado) Template:Es icon