Maqui
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Mexico is the 8th largest textile manufacturer in the world, producing around $13 billion dollars and exporting approximately $7 billion dollars annually. This includes apparel, industrial textiles, and home decor.
Despite the growing demand, the industry is losing billions worldwide. According to McKinsey, 30% of apparel inventory is not sold, while 40% of sales end up being returned.
Let's dive in.
Imagine this
You just started working in the purchasing department at a fashion brand that outsources all of its production.
A few weeks after placing your first order, the lead times you were given were met, and there has yet to be an update on the status of your order.
Checking with one of the factories, they tell you there was a problem with the electrical supply and that the production time has been pushed to 2 weeks.
This delay led to a stockout, causing the brand to lose money on potential sales.
Explain it like I'm five
While many fashion brands depend on real-time data to see their orders and plan their stock, there still needs to be more visibility in each of the stages of production.
Greenpeace published that over 10 million tons of clothes are thrown away or burned globally each year. With more information from each part of the manufacturing process, waste and efficiency should allow a smoother and more sustainable supply chain.
With Maqui, brands can access real-time data and reports from their factories.
Factories can establish better communication with clients, reducing the time it takes to follow up on orders and updating brands on their lead times.
Both factories and brands can plan production better, reducing waste and increasing efficiency.
Maqui offers a platform that uses real-time data and analytics to streamline outsourced textile production.
The ABCs
Industries: Textile, Software
Headquarters: Mexico City
Year Operations Started: 2023
Team Size: 28
Raised: $1.5 million dollars
Investors: Marathon Ventures, Nido Ventures, Integra Group, Kuiper, Noa Capital
Business Model: Subscription as a Service (Saas) for textile companies.
Background check
What we like:
Network Effects: Maqui's founder told Runway that most of the factories they work with supply multiple brands, facilitating the discovery of potential clients and adding them to their network.
Communication: Implementing their platform reduces the need for manual updates and emails that factories must send to brands. Real-time information about production status can allow brands to improve their efficiency and decisions.
Growth: Since its launch, they have tracked over 540,000 garments. They operate in Mexico and Colombia, with plans to expand to other countries once they have established a strong presence in these markets.
Market: They are currently focused on the apparel market but have found that most apparel factories also produce textile products for multiple other segments, including home decor, automobiles, and industrial textiles.
Access: Maqui is capturing the different textile factories in Latin America, which they can convert as a database since it will enable them to offer new brands access to these factories and provide additional supplier options for current brands.
Roadblocks:
Implementation: Founders admitted that the implementation process could be faster, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of resources. They face challenges in integrating companies with their existing software and teaching factories and brands how to utilize their platform effectively.
Manual: Most of the information has to be added manually for brands to gain visibility in the manufacturing process, which can limit efficiency and scalability.
Brands: Maqui needs to rapidly demonstrate its platform’s value and return on investment (ROI) to potential brand clients to ensure adoption and success.
The Architects
Sebastián Obregón, Co-Founder & CEO.
Andrés Londoño, Co-Founder & CGO.
Melina Cruz, Co-Founder & CSO.
Enrique Osorio, Co-Founder & COO.
Request intro with founders by sending an email to gabriel@readrunway.com
Headlines Corner
Simetrik, a Colombian payment infrastructure startup, raised $55 million dollars in funding (Reuters).
BemAgro, a Brazilian Agtech startup, raised $2 million dollars in funding (Latamlist).
Reddit filed for an IPO, disclosing ~21% revenue growth and a $91 million dollars net loss in 2023 (NPR).
Crisp, a platform providing brands and distributors with store and shelf-level data, raised $50 million dollars in funding (Businesswire).
Founders Bookmarks
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10 lessons from the best venture investors.
Jeff Bezos on two different kinds of failures.
Top Venture Capital firms in Latin America.
Building in LatAm? Send us your pitch deck for the opportunity to be featured in Runway.