Chilean Retailer Ripley Closing Colombian Stores as Country's Fashion Market Faces Changes

On Feb. 18, Ripley, a Chilean department store, announced the closing of all stores in Colombia because of struggling sales in Latin America's third largest economy.

The popular department store offers a variety of fashion brands, tech and home products. The chain consists of 52 stores throughout Chile, Peru and Colombia, which is currently undergoing changes in the fashion market.

According to a report by Fashion Mag, Ripley couldn't come to an agreement about how to overcome its $27 million losses in 2014. The fashion giant decided to end business in the Colombian retail market.

"Several initiatives were put forth to make stores competitive and to reach the proposed goals, but the opportunities didn't come about for us to realize our original business plan," said Sergio Hidalgo Herazo, Ripley's general manager, in a statement.

Ripley, modeled after American retailer Macy's, offers fashion-forward brands such as River Island, Regatta and Oasis, as well as several luxury brands.

The struggle for Ripley may be due to Colombia's often struggling textile firms. Many are working to trade pricey imports for local products and currently lack the means to increase exports, reported Just Style.

According to Supertex's Sportswear director Diana Margarita Rivera, textile companies lack a variety of materials for production, as well as proper machinery to construct goods. This causes production schedules and the delivery process to run long, since these materials, such as nylon lycra, polyster lycra and brushed cotton, need to be imported.

Colombia, which already offers quality designs and proximity, would need billions of dollars to help revive its fashion production and meet the fast-fashion model and standards set by the U.S.

However, textile firms like Artextil and Supertex, which are some of the largest textile companies in Colombia, are working on investing money to increase production options. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has soared against the peso, making Colombia, with its proximity to the U.S., an ideal partner in trade.