RegionaLink LLC, based in Salt Lake City with an operational office in Guatemala, has opened it
doors to offer sourcing services to U.S. and European apparel brands and retailers searching for
production capabilities in the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)
region as an alternative to capabilities in Asia, where rising prices and other concerns are making
sourcing in that region a less attractive solution. The new company, led by Managing Director
Alejandro Arias, has received initial investment backing from three executives with extensive
experience in apparel sourcing and supply chain technology, including: Carlos Arias, president of
Denimatrix LP, the Guatemala-based denim apparel manufacturing subsidiary of Plains Cotton
Cooperative Association; Kurt Cavano, chairman and CEO of TradeCard Inc., a New York City-based
supply chain collaboration platform for brands, retailers and their partners; and Walter T.
Wilhelm, founder of Walter Wilhelm Associates, a Salt Lake City-based consultancy serving the
apparel, footwear and retail sectors.
“Many companies are looking to bring production back to the Americas but need help,” said
Alejandro Arias. “RegionaLink’s mission is to provide best-in-class services to brands and
retailers in the United States and Europe seeking to source production in the Central America-DR
region by connecting them to a network of qualified reliable vendors and by continuing to support
the operation from sampling through successful on-time delivery of a quality production. We see
ourselves as a ‘Boutique Sourcing Services Organization’ with a premier network of buyers and
vendors able to attract clients and able to provide a wide variety of services tailored to a
client’s individual needs.”
RegionaLink will charge retailers and brands a fee for services, with a two-pronged fee
structure that will vary on a client-to-client basis. First, the company will charge a fixed fee to
represent the client in the region and provide access to RegionaLink’s network of factories;
up-to-date business and socioeconomic information for each country involved in the supply chain;
and assistance in the product development, costing and sampling stages of the supply chain process.
Second, it will charge a percentage fee upon order placement to cover services related to order
management, factory compliance, quality control and shipping.
The company also will charge fees to the factories under a yet-to-be-determined structure
based on business prospectiveness, and marketing and promotion with U.S. and European brands and
retailers.
In addition to providing sourcing services to brands and retailers, Arias said RegionaLink
also will be beneficial to U.S. yarn and fabric producers that are positioned to take advantage of
CAFTA-DR. “U.S. yarns have a big impact in the Central American market, particularly in knits,” he
said. “We’ll contribute by bringing CAFTA-DR product into the United States.”
June 7, 2011
