The Ecuadorian clothing brand is moving from virtual sales to its first location in Guayaquil and its second nationwide

Ecuadorian fashion brand Distrito 5 has opened its first physical store in Guayaquil with an investment of $170,000, making it the second city where this business, born in 2019, has opened. starting family: its creators are four brothers.

What started as a shop on social networks – they currently have 318 thousand followers – has positioned itself in the market: in 2022 they opened the first location in Quito, and now they are in Guayaquil. The main port was chosen, according to the brand, because a large percentage of sales come from here e-commerce. The plan is to expand to more cities in the country, even internationally.

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Their new store is located in the City Mall, the opening was held on September 7, and a total of 32 direct and around 300 indirect jobs were generated.

They point out that they offer clothes for “real and modern women”, and that this is a source of work for householders, which is why 90% of their employees are women.

Distrito 5 was born as a digital venture four years ago, led by four siblings: Estefanía Torres, Head of Procurement; Alejandro Torres, General Manager; Cris Torres, Head of Design; and Xavier Torres, Operations Manager.

“This is the dream of four brothers, and with Distrito 5 our purpose is to challenge fashion conventions, empower and represent Ecuadorian women through quality clothes produced in the country,” said Cristina, adding that the business goal is to raise the Ecuadorian fashion market.

Alejandro, the youngest of four brothers, was the one who came up with the idea for the project, Estefanía said. “He told us to create our own brand, (at first) it seemed complicated to us, because we said that there is a lot of competition and this fear that national consumers prefer international brands, but he said that part of this is changing the consumer culture and we we have to change, build something different ourselves and the idea started to affect us,” he said.

According to Estefanía, the goal is for the national consumer to “feel the pride that this brand can compete internationally.”

According to Alejandro, the store was born with an investment of USD 9,000 in 2019. He indicated that the resources allocated to this new store in Guayaquil, USD 170,000, were distributed between remodeling the space, inventory, technology and staff training.

The creation of the store happened during the pandemic, after its positioning and marketing strategy. Marketing on social networks. Currently, according to the brand, it has a loyal community of real women who identify with its values: empowerment, comfort and avant-garde.

E-commerce has been fundamental to Distrito 5, as much of the sales come from Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenza.

According to the purchasing manager, between 2019 and 2021, sales were 100% unchanged. on the line and currently corresponds to 30 % sales of digital channels. He also pointed out that social networks have become a tool for democratizing access to quality fashion.

To name District 5, according to Estefanía, five fundamental axes were taken into account: community, administration, social responsibility, marketing and strategy, and human resources.

Of the five axes, the “most important” one stands out: the community. “We were very clear from the beginning that we had to create a community before we could sell the product and then be able to position the brand,” he stated.

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Short-term expansion plans for District 5, between December and March 2024, are to open a physical store in Cuenca; in the medium term to cities such as Ambato, Riobamba, Loja, Machala and Santo Domingo; while in the long term they seek to position themselves in Colombia, Peru, Mexico and the United States.

According to Estefanía, “absolutely” all clothing production is Ecuadorian, with workshops located in the capital, Atuntaqui, and sought in other cities, while supplies are imported from Colombia, Peru, Brazil, India.

In Quito, the physical store is located in the Metropolitan building, Unidas Boulevard.