Ready to wear: a Spanish clothing designer uses Mexico as a platform for international expansion.

Simplicity, sophistication, culture and modernity. Those are the four pillars on which rest the fashions of 60-year-old Robert Verino, one of Spain's most celebrated designers. Now, he's taking his style across the Atlantic. With a US$420,000 investment, Verino is open for business in Latin America.

His first stop was Mexico City, where Verino opened a retail outlet in the Liverpool de Perisur and another in the Santa Fe and Insurgentes shopping centers, as well as a franchise outfit in the Antara Polanco mall. To make his mark on the New World even deeper, Verino brought with him the pride of his cellar: Terra do Gargalo wines from his vineyard in his native Vaile de Monterrey, in Galicia.

Wines aside, Roberto Verino--his fashion line is known as RV--includes a profitable brand of clothing, perfumes, ceramics, sunglasses and accessories that brought in $97 million in 2005, $41 million of which came from his ready-to-wear clothing line.

RV's international expansion began with the Mexican investment and is now bound for Asia. But expanding doesn't necessarily mean becoming more popular. "Expanding means finding select locations in the world while keeping our work personalized. I'm trying to make luxury available," says Verino, who brings his lines to Asian and Latin American markets without resorting to cheap labor or supplies in either region. All design and production takes place in Europe, mainly in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

With 37 proprietary stores, 15 franchises and 58 points of sale in Spain's Corte Ingles shopping centers, Verino says his long-term goal is to compete on the level of Italy's Giorgio Armani, which, according to Verino, "is small enough not to lose its creativity but large enough for its creativity to be profitable."

Comparisons are already being made between Armani and Verino in European fashion circles. "Roberto Verino is a classic Spanish designer. His fashions are always simple yet elegant and comfortable, with a touch of sophistication," says Carmen Olalla, fashion editor for In Style-Espana magazine. "If you were to compare him with an international fashion designer, it would have to be Armani, because in their respective countries, they are the ones that produce elegant yet minimalist styles, with black as the basic color."

Production will stay in Europe, and Verino will continue to personally design all clothing for his clients, mainly wealthy men and women. He will also stick with one line of clothing, based on the RV creed that Spain and Latin America are very similar and don't require new labels. "Our potential customers are people who travel to Spain often, are up to date on Spanish fashion and identify themselves with Roberto's concepts--original designs of excellent quality and priced competitively when compared with Italian and French brands of the same level," says Linda Heras, who is in charge of international expansion at RV.

RV expects each new retail outlet in Mexico City to generate up to $420,000 in sales during their first year of operations. "It's a start. We haven't got people into the habit of buying Roberto Verino brands. Despite that, sales are exceeding expectations," says Angel Dieguez, RV's general director.

Identity. Roberto Verino decided to come to Mexico after an in-depth market study. "The conclusion was that the Latin American market, where there are similarities in terms of culture and lifestyle, was an interesting choice for expansion. What really stood out was Mexico, a market that was attractive for both its size and the level of purchasing power and development," Dieguez says. Positive market studies aside, Mexico became a top priority for RV's international expansion due to the presence of local partners, such as retailers Liverpool and Sordo Madaleno. "Through a franchising model, we took on part of the business risks, mainly with the product, while the local partner makes the investment in the establishments and their locations," says Dieguez.

Roberto Verino hopes to strike up business in other Latin American countries, although the company does not have any concrete plans to do so at the time. When it does come time to tap new markets, it will know how. "It would be a mistake to continue expanding abroad without local partners," Diegnez says, noting that Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay--Brazil especially--are countries where RV might end up next. "The main market is Sao Paulo, which has become one of the world's fashion capitals."