The millionaires behind Axo, the next great Mexican retailer

Few Mexican companies can boast of having as shareholders and directors the owner of the world's largest Spanish-speaking television network; to the owners of the largest franchise operator in Latin America and to the former Secretary of the Treasury who has restructured more state and corporate debts. Grupo Axo, the Mexican retailer of clothing brands that is preparing to enter the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), has them and its long-term goal is to become the leader in the sector, even if this means facing giants such as Inditex (Zara ), by billionaire Amancio Ortega.

The history of Grupo Axo began to be written in 1994, when Andrés Gómez and Alberto Fasja obtained the license for the Tommy Hilfiger brand, whose products began to be sold in department stores in Mexico. A year later, they opened the first boutique in Mexico. Through this formula they managed to acquire the exclusive rights of Coach, Guess, Pink, Rapsodia, Brooks Brothers, Marc Jacobs, Benetton, among others. Today, the company operates 26 brands through 2,739 points of sale.

The rapid growth of the company attracted the interest of former Secretary of the Treasury, Pedro Aspe, who after his time in the public sector decided to start an investment fund and an advisory firm for companies and governments. In 2010, Aspe, through the company Evercore Partners, bought 20% of the share capital of Grupo Axo.

Three years later, in 2013, Alsea, the operator of brands such as Starbucks, Domino's, Burger King, Chilli's, CPK and PF Chang's, chaired by Alberto Torrado, acquired 25% of Axo. "This acquisition will give Alsea a new opportunity to venture into segments that provide another avenue for future growth under concepts of higher margins, capitalizing on our competitive advantages," said Fabián Gosselín, former CEO of Alsea.

Alsea is the leading food franchise operator in Latin America and Spain. It operates a total of 2,425 units and last year it had a turnover of 32,288 million pesos. Its owners, the Torrado family, managed to conquer the Mexican and Latin American middle class with international restaurant brands, a model very similar to that of Grupo Axo in the clothing, footwear and accessories business.

Since Pedro Aspe, the Torrado family and the main executives of Televisa, headed by Emilio Azcárraga Jean, became partners and advisers of Axo, his rise has been vertiginous: he obtained the exclusive distribution rights of the brands Kate Spade, Chaps, Theory and Victoria's Secret; Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Loft, and Bath & Body Works; issued long-term stock certificates for one billion pesos; acquired 50% of Multibrand Outlet Stores, owner of Promoda Outlet, Rewind, Reduced and Urban Store, and is in the process of purchasing the remaining 50%.

Likewise, in February 2016, it issued a second and third issuance of stock certificates for a combined total amount of 800 million pesos, while announcing a strategic alliance with the firm PVH, through which it will acquire control of its business. in Mexico. PVH operates brands such as Calvin Klein, Heritage Brands, Baseco, Warner's, Olga and Speedo.

In the last three years, Grupo Axo has increased its sales at a rate of 35% per year and its operating flow at a rate of 30%. In the last 12 months ending in September, the company invoiced 3 thousand 789 million pesos and registered an EBITDA of 549 million.

Your IPO and future growth. As part of its growth, Grupo Axo plans to reach the BMV this year. The firm co-chaired by its founders Andrés Gómez and Alberto Fasja plans to raise around 2 billion pesos in a mixed public offering of shares, according to the Reuters agency, and is expected to take place before the end of the 2016.

What is your future growth plan? The company will continue to search for new clothing brands to include in its portfolio; it will accelerate the opening of stores in Mexico and Latin America; it will bet on electronic commerce to broaden its range of clients and will reinforce its advertising strategy. For this, the presence of Emilio Azcárraga, Bernardo Gómez and Alfonso de Angoitia, three of the so-called "Fantastic Four" of Televisa, on its Board of Directors is very important.

Postscript. The share offering will bring in new shareholders to the company. Surely multimillionaire funds and entrepreneurs seeking to capitalize on the opportunities that the growth of the Mexican middle class brings. But also the disinvestment, perhaps, of shareholders such as the fund led by Pedro Aspe.

@MarioMal

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