Alpargatas Argentina is the leading
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
manufacturer in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, as well as a major local distributor and exporter. Originally established in Argentina in 1883, since 2008 the company is a subsidiary of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian
Alpargatas S.A.
Alpargatas S.A. is one of the largest Brazilian manufacturing company in the footwears and canvass business.
Its main product is ''Havaianas'', one of the largest Brazilian brands of rubber flip-flops, since 1962.
History
It was founded in ...
,
[ formerly part of the industrial conglomerate ]Camargo Corrêa Camargo may refer to:
Places
Bolivia:
* Camargo, Chuquisaca
Brazil:
* Camargo, Rio Grande do Sul
Mexico:
* Camargo, Chihuahua
* Camargo, Tamaulipas
Spain:
* Camargo, Cantabria
United States of America:
* Camargo, Illinois
* Camargo, Kentucky ...
.
History
Juan Echegaray, a Basque Argentine
Basque Argentines are Argentine citizens of Basque descent or people from Basque residing in Argentina. Basque Argentines are one of the largest Basque diaspora groups in the world.
Basque settlement in Argentina took place in the late 19th and ...
immigrant, and the textile engineering
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...
background of Robert Fraser, a Scottish Argentine
Scottish Argentines are Argentine citizens of Scottish descent or Scottish-born people who reside in Argentina. A Scottish Argentine population has existed since at least 1825. Frequently, Scottish Argentines are wrongly referred to as English. ...
immigrant, created a partnership in 1883 for the manufacture of espadrille
Espadrilles (Spanish: ''alpargatas or esparteñas''; Catalan: ''espardenyes''; Basque: ''espartinak'') are casual, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of ...
s (jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
-soled canvas footwear favored by laborers for their comfort, durability and low cost). These shoes, called ''Alpargatas'' in Spanish, inspired the company's name, ''Sociedad Anónima Fábrica Argentina de Alpargatas'', upon its incorporation in 1885.[Alpargatas: historia at official web]
Demand for the unassuming footwear grew with the wave of immigration in Argentina
Immigration to Argentina began in several millennia BCE with the arrival of different populations from Asia to the Americas through Beringia, according to the most accepted theories, and were slowly populating the Americas. Upon arrival of ...
during the 1880s, and by 1890, Alpargatas had established a facility in neighboring Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. The fast-growing textile industry led to its diversification into yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufact ...
in 1892, and by 1907, a facility was opened in São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
under the name "Sao Paulo Alpargatas".["Alpargatas, o la historia de la madre que se volvió hija"]
''La Nación'', 11 Oct 2007.
The company's growth allowed it to develop larger facilities in 1928 occupying a city block in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
' southside Barracas section. This facility began making vulcanized rubber
Vulcanization (British: Vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to includ ...
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
A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...
in Sáenz Peña, a town in northern Argentina, allowed Alpargatas to manufacture denim
Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...
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.[
]
The company's 1975 launch of an athletic shoe
Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...
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
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
in 1978 with the acquisition of a 50% stake in the BBVA Banco Francés, a small financial institution which grew from 15 to 62 branches when the company sold its stake to local venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
ist Eduardo Constantini
Eduardo Francisco Costantini (born September 17, 1946) is an Argentine real estate developer and businessman and the founder and chairman of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires ( MALBA). In April 2022, his net worth was estimated at ...
in 1991.
The longtime CEO of Alpargatas, Eduardo Oxenford, was appointed to head federal receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
of the Argentine Industrial Union after the March 1976 coup
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
. He was named Minister of Industry by the administration of General Roberto Viola
Roberto Eduardo Viola (13 October 1924 – 30 September 1994) was an Argentine military officer who briefly served as president of Argentina from 29 March to 11 December 1981 as a military dictator.
Early life
He was born as Roberto Eduardo Vio ...
in 1981, quitting however within months over policies that adversely affected industry.
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
An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.
In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...
in the local apparel and footwear market during the 1990s prompted the company to open its first factory outlet
An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...
stores in 1995, and in 1998, it established ''Dialog'', a logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
company, for its transport and warehousing needs.[
The company's São Paulo facilities, Alpargatas S.A. were acquired by Camargo Correa Group in the 1980s, and in 2008, the Brazilian subsidiary bought a 35% stake in Alpargatas Argentina.]["Alpargatas, empresa emblemática, también pasa a manos brasileñas"]
''Clarín'', 11 Oct 2007 This group had previously acquired Argentine companies Grafa and Loma Negra
Loma Negra Companía Industrial Argentina S.A. is an Argentine manufacturer and the country's leading maker of cement, concrete, and lime. The company, established by businessman Alfredo Fortabat, also founded its own sports club, C.S.yD. Loma N ...
.["Alpargatas quedó en manos de la gigante brasileña Camargo Correa", ''Página/12'']
11 Oct 2007[
In 2010 the company sold its brand "Pampero" (]workwear
Workwear is clothing worn for work, especially work that involves manual labour. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety.
The workwear clothing industry ...
) to a commercial society formed by local company Cardón and the Karagozian family. In October 2012, Alpargatas sold the bedspread
Bedding, also known as bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environm ...
brand "Palette".
On March 19, 2013, Alpargatas S.A. acquired 4,33% of Alpargatas SAIC for US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
4,7 million therefore the former Brazilian subsidiary controlled 100% of Alpargatas Argentina.
Brands and products
;Notes
Social relevance
Alpargatas gained notoriety when in 1931 local artist Florencio Molina Campos
Florencio Molina Campos (birth name, Florencio de los Ángeles Molina Campos, August 21, 1891 – November 16, 1959) was an Argentine illustrator and a painter known by his typical traditional scenes of the Pampa. His work represents gauchesco ...
started to illustrate company's calendars with his gaucho-life paintings. The artist was paid with A$ 6,000 for 12 original paintings. Molina Campos continue his collaboration with Alpargatas until 1936. Commercial relations between the artist and the company renewed for a new production of calendars from 1940 to 1945. It is estimated that a total of about 18 million calendars were printed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpargatas
Textile companies of Argentina
Manufacturing companies based in Buenos Aires
Manufacturing companies established in 1885
1885 establishments in Argentina
Argentine subsidiaries of foreign companies