Looking at setting up in Mexico, Please help :)

[joannek62]

Hi there,

I have a small clothing label in the UK and are now looking at coming to Mexico to produce garments, I am looking at the best place in Mexico to set up a home and near an area that would have clothing manufactures. I am also looking for a cheap, safe area near the sea so I have some quality of live while I am there. Ideally I would be looking at being in Mexico 2 weeks of every month and then going over the border to America to sell the label to various boutiques, and flights back to UK.

I would be really grateful for any advise anyone could give, i am nervous about the change from London and have never been to Mexico before. You hear so many horror stories.

Any info on UK citizens crossing the borders into America would be great!

I would need to employ a seamstress who could speak english, do you think this would be difficult to find?

Really Looking forward to any response

Thanks
Joanne

[RVGRINGO]

Welcome to the forum.
Have you discussed your plans with the commercial folks at your nearest Mexican Embassy or Consulate? They are the ones who might give you some guidance on the requirements for setting up such a business in Mexico. Of course, you would also need to consider the requirements for import/export between the USA and Mexico, etc. If you have the proper visas in your passport, there should be no problem crossing between the two countries and, yes, there are flights from Mexico to UK. You would probably want to come to Mexico to study the situation in various parts of the country. Seamstresses with good English skills would be rare and you would certainly need Spanish to do business here effectively.

[joannek62]

Hi there,

Thanks you for your help, do you think that the seamstresses may be able to speak a slight amount of English?

Do many mexicans speak English or does it depend on where i go?

What is the minimum wage per hour over there?

Can you recommend any areas that you think would be worth looking into?

Thanks
Joanne

[RVGRINGO]

The language of Mexico is Spanish. Finding a seamstress speaking English would be difficult, as mentioned above. In tourist resort areas on the coasts, the odds are better than inland. Mexican minimum wage is around the equivalent of $5 US per day but even maids and gardeners make more than that; more like 30-40 pesos per hour in some areas.
You really should make a personal tour of Mexico to get a better idea of possible options and also the official difficulties of a foreigner setting up a business in Mexico. There will be financial requirements and the need for a specific type of visa, etc.

[Rodrigo84]

It's really going to be hard trying to find someone to speak English.

Personally, the only area you can really get the kind of power in terms of salary would be in or around Mexico City. Toluca, just west of Mexico City, has a lot of manufacturing capacity, and many foreign businesses set up plants there. Of course, none of this is near the coast.

The other thing is there is competition out here, because garments are heavily produced in this area and sometimes the unions or syndicates don't like any competition. I say that for a lot of industries.

[goingglobal]

Not to discourage you, but, if you can make that happen in today's economy, I think Obama could use your skills. Good luck, seriously.

[Hound Dog]

Originally Posted by joannek62

Hi there,

I have a small clothing label in the UK and are now looking at coming to Mexico to produce garments, I am looking at the best place in Mexico to set up a home and near an area that would have clothing manufactures. I am also looking for a cheap, safe area near the sea so I have some quality of live while I am there. Ideally I would be looking at being in Mexico 2 weeks of every month and then going over the border to America to sell the label to various boutiques, and flights back to UK.

I would be really grateful for any advise anyone could give, i am nervous about the change from London and have never been to Mexico before. You hear so many horror stories.

Any info on UK citizens crossing the borders into America would be great!

I would need to employ a seamstress who could speak english, do you think this would be difficult to find?

Really Looking forward to any response

Thanks
Joanne

Where do you think your market will be in the States? Mexico is large and the US are enormous.
Mexico is a very large country and unless you set up shop in one of the border towns(which are the ones that are the most dangerous) driving to sell in the US is a pipe dream.
You need to fly to the various towns where you are going to sell. Being near a large airport that has direct flights to the States is the logical thing to do.
By the way comuting back and forth to Europe is exhausting and you really get wiped out by the jet lag going back to Europe. I did it off and on and it really takes a toll on your system.

The obvious is Mexico City area. Forget about the seamstresses speaking English, get a partner (which I am pretty sure you must have by law) or farm out the work to be done to a small garment company.
If you get a trusted right hand for the operation and manufacturing then you can concentrate on selling.
Since you will not be there 100% of the time your first priority will be a Mexican partner anyways.
You need to speak with a Mexican lawyer and the Mexican Consulate in the UK to try to narrow down the city you need to do business in and what are the legal requirements to start a business.
You also need to have a meeting with someone at the US Consulate and nedd to spealk about visa and exporting from Mexico into the US.
The second is to come to a couple of areas they may recommend and speak to people who are in the same type of business and get as much information as you can.
Then you can worry about the beach and your down time.
Tijuana is not far from the beach but if you live inland or in Mexico City many people go to Acapulco and Vera Cruz and the wealthier ones go to the Yucatan Peninsula or whever they want to go. The beaches are short flights between 1 and 2 hours away from DF. You have direct flights from Cancun to Europe.
You also have some beautiful areas around Mexico City to spend long week-ends

Mexico is not a scary country if you learn the language and the culture but it is very different from what you are used to and learning the culture and language as well as starting a business and running a business part time is a tall order for anyone.
Remember rules here are fluid and can change any time and nothing is really what it appears to be.

[joannek62]

Thank you for your response,

I have business already in the UK with regular orders but want to cut my prduction costs because at the moment i am paying uk prices, so i have regular work but would need to find a manufacturer in Mexico that can do this?

Depending on where i would base myself i would look at either flying to US or driving either would be an option but like you say i would need to look into the export information more.

At the moment i hire a seamstress and a pattern maker in the uk to make my samples, i was also thinking of lowering costs in this area by doing this in Mexico but they would need to speak a very small amount of english.

The cost of living in the Uk is so high and i don't actually need to be in this country to do my business so also cost of living would be reduced.

There is some sense in my idea but its a hard decision to make, i don't want to waste money on flights to Mexico and accomodation to have a good look around, i could base myself anywhere as long as it was relitively safe and had the prospect of been able to employ 2 local people to do my samples in my house and available materials and manufacturers near by.

If you have any more information now I have explained the situation in more detail i would be really grateful.

Thanks

Joanne

[synthia]

Have you been to Mexico before? Have you talked to anyone who does business in Mexico? I'd avoid the border cities, as the crime and drug trafficking seem to have become much worse recently.

[joannek62]

Thanks for your reply.

No, i have never been to Mexico, I have been to various countries around the world and manufactured previously in India but I have never been South America and figured that Mexico was probably the easiest country in South America to do this as there will be more English speaking people there, please correct me if you feel that there would be a better alternative.

I have heard on the manufacturing grape vine that many clothing labels are now getting there manufacturing done in South America as it is more economical?? (Do you think that Mexico is included in this?)

Looking at the average prices of living it is not as cheap as what I initially expected!

Look forward to any response.

Thanks
Joanne