Mr. Meir Mareyna is the CEO of Mexican distributor Tendencias y Conceptos SA de CV and the founding director of Marketing Olfativo SA de CV. Much of his success with these two companies is attributed to his belief in the philosophies: “Make it great… constantly!”, “Service, service, service” and “flip thinking”. In addition, Mr. Mareyna incorporates finding the strengths of his business partners and promotes 360° close relationships.
Service is deeply woven into the business culture at Tendencias y Conceptos, as the company aims to identify the value proposal for their customers and strives to consistently offer the highest level of service, delivering what is needed at the precise moment required. Additionally, Mr. Mareyna believes that structured creativity focuses his business objective on being the one contact chosen by a customer in need, underscoring the company’s reliability and capacity to reliably deliver value.
Tendencias y Conceptos, S.A. de C.V. serves as agent, distributor and wholesaler. Its top retail customers include the largest department stores and mass market merchants in the country.
Demographics
Mexico’s population in 2015 was 119.5 million, with 31.4 million families. The population under the age of 15 = 27%. This age group is very important for the future. The ages of 15-64 represent 65%. Mexico’s economy is 15th in the world, but it ranks only 51st in competitiveness due to various issues in politics and society. Mexico’s GDP is $1,300 USD, or 7.4% of the U.S. economy. Per capita income is $8,201. Mexico at nearly 2 million km2 is roughly the same size as Western Europe. It has six major cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Leon and Tijuana. Mexico borders the U.S. on the north and Guatemala and Belize on the south.
Retail Overview
Consumer purchasing is influenced by seven major holidays.
Mr. Mareyna outlined the major channels and number of stores in each segment:
- Department Store: Coppel is the largest with 852 stores, includes Sears and Woolworth
- Mass Merchants: Walmart leads with 1,122 stores
- Specialty Stores: Home Depot (120+), Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate + Barrel, The Home Store
- Clubs: Sam’s Club (161), Costco (37) and City Club (35)
- Internet & Catalog: Mercadolibre is the segment leader, followed by Amazon and others. Most retailers maintain online platforms.
Market percentages by channel:
- 80% – Department stores
- 10% – Drug/supermarket/convenience
- 5% – Independent Specialty
- 1% – Gift Stores
- 1% – Hotels/Restaurant/Caterers
- 2% – Internet
Housewares Market Review
There are eight small regional home goods trade fairs and several category-specific trade associations for retailers. There are no trade publications of importance.
Price Sensitivity
As Mexico is a developing country, price sensitivity is always an issue. Buyers always compare products to what is available in the U.S. and in online platforms.
Company History
A 59-year old, family-owned (third generation) company, Tendencias y Conceptos was founded in 1958 by European immigrants, Boris Mareyna and his wife Hilda Mareyna. They opened a gift shop in one of the most important neighborhoods in Mexico City and named it Plateria Polanco. The Mexican upper classes shopped there for attractive and unique gifts items and to enhance their own homes.
Imports in Mexico were very restricted at that time, but as the years passed the market opened to the world. Mr. Jack Mareyna (son of Boris and Hilda) started to import some of the most important global brands to offer his clients and to distribute to other retailers.
Markets Served
The broad home/housewares product categories include China, Crystal and Silver at 39% and Cook and Bakeware at 28%. Other categories rank below 10% each.
In addition to the housewares market, industries such as confectionery, health services, and the hospitality industry are served. Key marketing tools include social media promotions combined with the brands’ efforts, demonstrators and promoters on the retail sales floors, along with clients’ institutional catalogs.
Brands Represented
Tendencias y Conceptos is now one of the most renowned distributors for the housewares market in Mexico with more than 20 important global brands in its portfolio. It carries brands from the U.S., Canada, Turkey, Poland, Germany, Franch, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Colombia and Japan. Well-known international brands include names such as Alllinox, American Girl Crafts, Anchor-Oneida, Arc International, Brabantia, Cristar, Clip Fresh, Copco, Eme Posaterie, Emile Henry, Gourmet Settings, Karolina, Kutahya, Luigi Bormiolo, Noritake, OXO, Pasabahce, Rayen, Renga, Starorolsky, Wilton Brands and Wusthof.
Sales Process
The sales staff includes 25 people. Tendencias y Conceptos analyzes market/customer needs to find new opportunities and accept new collections from brands already represented. When items/collections are approved for a new program, we handle import and delivery. If a supplier is approved for a plan-o-gram, we then calculate fulfillment, rotation and ETA´s to make sure we will have enough stock to keep our excellent fill rates. We provide translation, importing, packaging, overstickering and delivery services.
Learn more at www.tendence.com.mx
