Mexican Artell Expands South; $12 Million Annual Sales

March 5, 2019

Artell General Director Angel Perez Gomez in Mexico City showroom.
Artell General Director Angel Perez Gomez in Mexico City showroom.

MEXICO CITY -- Artell, the Mexican fabric wholesaler that turns 40, is expanding into Central and South America this year, along with offering online sales and additional products for contractors.

With $12 million in annual sales, the company made the F&FI Top 25 North American Jobbers List.

“We see a very important growth opportunity for the next few years in the hospitality sector,” General Director Angel Perez Gomez says. “We started to open territory in South America, where we believe that we can be a good alternative thanks to our collections and infrastructure.”

Starting in 1979, company officials went through a tough time in Mexico because borders were closed to imports.

But as things changed for the better, today, Artell produces its own collection, the Artell brand. There are now about 18 to 20 collections in a wide variety of textures for upholstery, tapestry, wallpaper as well as other collections for children, outdoor, and more sophisticated styles.

The company’s main showroom is in the capital, along with retail branches across Mexico City and Guadalajara, which carry all its collections and services for contractors and consumers.

While there are different discounts depending on the type of customer and volume of purchase, Artell’s collection ranges from $20 to $40 per square meter. Its high-end collections cost about $60 per square meter.

“[Our main customers] in residential [are] mainly decoration offices, interior designers, decoration shops, furniture manufacturers, upholsterers, and headrails,”  Gomez says. “And we serve them through samples, and they are requesting the footage according to their needs. And as for contractors, medium or boutique hotels are our biggest concentration. In the spaces described above, it’s public areas, restaurants, and of course guest rooms.”

Artell has 120 employees. Its 6,000-square-meter factory is in Mexico City, where the company sample lines for its two companies, the Artell Group, and Telas Bayon, its lower-end brand.

Some collections are renewed every month or so, but officials launch new collections “constantly.” The main 18 to 20 collections are stored with an existing inventory of about 200,000 square meters for quick delivery.

“Our own collections are made in Mexico but the vast majority we import,” Gomez says. “…For the last six or seven years approximately, there has been a marked trend for textures, and a much-decreased demand in general for prints, geometric drawings, etc. In the upholsterer market, we have encountered that change as well. The demand for prints just started coming back recently, and now we are about to launch two new collections of printed fabrics and drawings again.”

Artell is the exclusive distributor and representative of many European fabric brands, such as Güell-Lamadrid, Les Creations, Alhambra, Casamance, and CasaDeco, among others.

“Our services also include confection services such as reupholstering, making curtains, cushions, etc., and especially consulting services in decoration that we offer for free,” Gomez says. “This gives an added-value for the customer to feel comfortable when it comes to addressing all their basic needs. As part of this, we get in front of our retail customers in our own stores as well as with a strategic alliance through leased space with what we call corners, inside of department stores, like the very famous store in Mexico, El Palacio de Hierro.” 

 


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