English investment fund Alpha Blue Ocean acquires Colombian brand Onda de Mar

By

Eva Gracia Morales

Published
Dec 11, 2018

The Colombian fashion swimwear brand Onda de Mar has been acquired by British investment fund Alpha Blue Ocean, which has plans to focus its efforts on taking the company global. 

As reported in Colombian newspaper La República on Tuesday, the new owner of Onda de Mar will double down on international expansion to help the company grow. The first objective of the brand's expansion is in the Americas: Mexico. The swimwear company currently operates six retail locations in the country and plans to increase this number to 16 company-owned points of sale, two of which will open in 2019, five in 2020 and the rest in 2021. 

The brand produces 1 million pieces annually. Currently, 40% are sold in Colombia and the rest are exported but the company's short-term target is to bring the figure up to 50%. 

Moving forward, the brand's new owner has its sights firmly set on Europe and Asia. The company achieved $26.478 million in income in 2017, and expects this figure to remain stable in 2018 and grow 8% in 2019. Alpha Blue Ocean intends to keep the brand's production in Colombia, where 100% of Onda de Mar's merchandise is currently manufactured, according to La República. 

Onda de Mar is the second largest swimwear brand in Colombia and is led by Juan Germán Carvajal. For its part, Alpha Blue Ocean is run by Pierre Vannineuse, has been operating for 14 months and is involved in 45 projects in a wide variety of industries.