Top international retail brands choose Uruguay to expand their business

The last brand to announce its landing in Uruguay was the popular H&M. The Swedish chain that sells clothing, apparel and cosmetics throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas opened its doors in the country in early October 2018.

H&M will initially have a 3,000-square-meter store on two floors in Montevideo Shopping that offers clothing options for women, men, young people and children. For the brand, this setup represents the arrival to its sixth Latin American market, since they operate in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Puerto Rico and Colombia.

The landing of H&M follows the recent opening of the Brazilian clothing brand Lojas Renner, which opened its first 1,500 square meter store in September 2017 in downtown Montevideo. The company, which has 310 stores and a presence in all the states of Brazil, decided to expand into Uruguay with four other stores located in the shopping malls Punta Carretas, Costa Urbana and Portones, in Montevideo and Melancia in the department of Rivera.

It is estimated that more than 100 jobs were generated by this company, at least for its first three stores in the Uruguayan market. The investment, which reached US$ 6 million, plus US$ 2 million for each of the stores, and which was the first made by the company outside its borders, was based on the stability of the Uruguayan economy, its per capita GDP - one of the highest in the region - and the growth of domestic consumption, among others.

The country's investment, export and image promotion agency, Uruguay XXI, participated in the decision-making process for the introduction of these two retail brands, giving advice and providing contact networks from 2015.

The arrival of other brands such as Adidas, Forever 21, Under Armour, Jeep Footware, MAC, Clarks, Aldo, Sarkany and Sodimac, set the pace for the retail sector in Uruguay and have shown the remarkable characteristics of the country as an investment destination.

In fact, Uruguay, the only country of Mercosur with investment grade, is chosen by foreign companies to develop their business to the region for its strategic location and logistical development that allows access to a market of more than 400 million people. It is also the country with the highest per capita retail sales in Latin America, constituting a dynamic market with a very concentrated urban population. It is also one of the countries with the lowest credit delinquency rates in the region.