Under the brand of Tiendas Rechido, Corporación Megapaca opened its first store selling second-hand clothing in the city of Morelia, Michoacan.
The new store operating in the Mexican market will make available to the public 50 thousand garments and the business strategy of the business group is to enter the Mexican market as an environmentally sustainable fashion option.
Six companies lead the list of textile importers in the country, where 14% of total imports correspond to nonwoven man-made or synthetic fibres.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Importers reports that "... this type of fabric (nonwoven synthetic filaments), weighing only 25 grams or less per square meter is 12.5%, followed by dyed fabrics with 3.3%. " The remaining 46.8% is represented by the heading 'other', which does not specify the type of fabrics in this group.
This retail sector in Costa Rica comprises about 248 importers of second-hand clothes who are now looking at the middle class market.
Although the prices of items range from $2 to $10, the large volumes handled by big chain stores make it a profitable business. Between 2007-12, used clothing imports rose by 50%, 87% came from the U.S. and 10% from Canada.