We interviewed Luis Casanegra (President) and one of the two founders, along with Sebastián Olmedo (CFO) and Diego Cabrera (Head of Strategic Planning), about this distinctive project and the trajectory of this model company.
"From the beginning, we understood that our value as owners and founders does not lie in directing, but precisely in growing our business differentiators, identifying market opportunities, quality products, profitable businesses, solid relationships, and safeguarding corporate culture. Our team guides our vision with a long-term focus." - LC.
The choice of Uruguay as the venue for this issuance was not coincidental, as the country has established a solid reputation for its seriousness, stability, and transparency in the financial sector. Although the Buenos Aires and Argentina market is larger, Uruguay stands out for its environment offering legal security and high credibility throughout the Americas.
Uruguay is distinguished by its robust regulatory framework, reliable financial institutions, and a long track record of respecting investors' rights, making it an attractive destination for the issuance of financial instruments such as Negotiable Obligations. Furthermore, the country is known for its high standards and requirements, which align with Latamly's strategic vision to surpass such standards and transcend comfort zones, both externally and internally.
Latamly's decision to choose Uruguay as the market for this operation reflects an intelligent and well-founded strategy. The purpose of issuing these obligations is to increase the company's visibility to potential investors. To achieve this, Latamly has followed a meticulous process, with the collaboration of the prestigious company Balanz Uruguay, a recognized specialist throughout the Americas, as well as legal representation by Ferrere Abogados, one of the country's most solid law firms.
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The support obtained from these two prestigious companies is the result of meticulous excellence over the years, where quality, excellence, and strategy are constant guidelines that guide daily operations.
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By opting for Uruguay, the company benefits from extensive advantages in terms of legal security, economic stability, and confidence in the financial system, which will undoubtedly generate greater interest from investors and strengthen its position in the market.
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The implemented strategy has a precise and distinctive impact, representing a significant novelty in the B2B world, tech commerce, and the securities market.
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The strategy of carrying out this action generates a precise and distinctive impact, which represents a significant novelty in the B2B world, tech commerce, and the securities market.
IN: Luis, how did the vision of this company emerge, from the simplest to the most complex?
LC: My brother Federico Casanegra, VP, focused on product, quality, innovation, and brands since we started, while my focus was on the market, analysis, data research, relevant information, projection, competition, identifying gaps, size, opportunities, and challenges. We complemented each other, and this shared vision has strengthened over time with the firm intention of transferring these competences with the best talents we have been incorporating. We have always enhanced ourselves by having the best experts in each area sitting at our work tables, not as an addition, but as an integral part of our team.
Today, the specialists who are part of our team continue our business analysis and development activities. We are a company that works daily to be increasingly data-driven, striving to have a comprehensive vision, with analytical capacity for both hard and soft variables, parameterized and technified. Our cross-referencing of information and analysis allows us to evaluate at a higher level, identify unmet demands, competition scarcity, or growing markets.
"We go in search of the best product to achieve results in the market."
IN: The vision of having the best experts sitting at the table, collaborating on an equal footing with the owners, represents the empowerment and distinctive growth of the company. This simple fact, which unfortunately is not common in many companies due to fear, bad dogmas, lack of culture, and emotional intelligence, in Latamly is quite the opposite.
How is this materialized and sustained over time?
LC: To achieve this, we have placed our vision on a strategic plan and the core needs of the business above all else, and we have defined the appropriate management model with which we have delegated the operation.
IN: The vision of having the best experts seated at the table, collaborating on an equal footing with the owners, represents the empowerment and distinctive growth of the company. This simple fact, which unfortunately is not common in many companies due to fear, bad dogmas, lack of culture, and emotional intelligence, is the opposite at Latamly. How is this materialized and sustained over time?
LC: To achieve this, we have placed our vision on a strategic plan and the core business needs above all else, and we have defined the appropriate management model with which we have delegated the operation. To sustain the best results over time, we understand that they are achieved through leaders who pursue the strategy, monitor KPIs, and strengthen the organizational culture. From the beginning, we understood that our value as owners and founders does not lie in directing, but precisely in growing our business differentiators, identifying market opportunities, quality products, profitable businesses, solid relationships, and safeguarding the corporate culture. Our team drives our vision with a long-term focus.
Speaking of the business, our company has numerous success stories in market arbitrage, evaluation, and effective execution of product introductions in opportunities we identify across different categories and verticals. While we operate in different segments, we always find growing niches where a leader has already developed the market, and that is when we identify suppliers offering high-quality products at highly competitive prices.
DC: We empathize with Latin American markets that have unmet needs or are underserved, and we offer technological goods with a price-quality relationship that responds to the most valued attributes by consumers worldwide (a source that validates our model).
IN: It is noteworthy that the company has developed the ability to interpret data as a composition of hard and soft variables. How is this achieved? By using emotional intelligence, does a kind of sensitivity develop? How is the ability to listen broadly maintained and to step out of the comfort or security zone, despite daily challenges?
SO: Projections based solely on numerical evaluations can be distorting. It is essential to listen sensitively, widely, and to investigate the market beyond what one wishes to hear. Taking a comprehensive view provides certainty, as being confined to paradigms or dogmas can be counterproductive.
LC: Another strength of the company lies in understanding and accepting the product life cycle according to market maturity. We enter a growing market and know when to exit when our data, which we continue to digitize, indicates that consumer trends will change in the future. Our ability to visualize the future in the present is our intelligence, and the capability to identify and develop future products gives us a competitive edge in the field of marketing, which is highly sustainable for the B2B business and market, segment, and channel development.
This training is preparing us to enter markets like the United States, Europe, and Asia, thanks to the improvements in digitization and process automation we are investing in. Our goal is to enhance our performance to be competitive in these markets as well. Nowadays, Latin America tends to follow the trends of the mentioned markets, and we contribute to their success. However, our future vision includes expanding our presence to more developed and innovative markets.
The integration of more data and the adoption of a strategic approach by leaders, beyond just the numerical aspects, help us increase critical thinking, learn, and improve. While directors think three years ahead and managers think one year ahead, we, as owners, look ten years into the future.
We are aware that in Argentina, multiple logistical, labor, legal, and administrative conflicts affect strategic planning. However, we train daily to overcome these challenges and not allow our unfavorable environment to consume us, unlike what happens in countries with more orderly and coherent state, cultural, and political systems.
We believe that our differentiator lies in the quality of our professionals and our orientation towards the long term. We recognize that many companies struggle to understand and maintain this mindset, resisting the urge to change or to confine themselves to internal dynamics and biases. We strive to maintain a daily and consistent culture to counteract this trend.
In our market view, we divide markets into three typologies: market creators, such as A-brands, that introduce innovative products at high prices and high quality where no market previously existed; "value for money" products, such as Xiaomi, that offer quality products without excessive emphasis on marketing or branding; and mass-market products that seek low prices at the expense of quality. For Latamly, we focus on the second typology, which is the largest market and where the average consumer is most attracted and where consumption is growing, with the mission to democratize technology.
We seek opportunities in underserved situations, such as exclusive online sales. We expand our distribution channels and democratize access through omnichannel strategies.
IN: Being super planned, strategic, yet agile and fast at the same time, how can one be both?
SO: We are always willing to adjust our planning if we identify real concrete opportunities. Thanks to our conduct, we have gained the trust of our clients and have managed to close contracts and agreements based on clear proposals that involve taking on challenging risks and responsibilities.
It is noteworthy that we have the ability to adapt, evolve, and exit markets and segments when necessary. The balance between being persistent and not stubborn, as well as staying updated in the market, is achieved through the ability to constantly evaluate our strategy, make informed decisions, and be open to changes based on the demands of the evolving business environment.h, it is a strong discipline.
IN: How did Latamly take its first steps to become specialists in the Gamer segment, for example?
LC: Latamly originated from the development of international business derived from the growth in the marketing of products from Mundo Fix store, which sold throughout the country via physical stores and digital channels, with the vision of offering disruptive quality services in the value chain. The specialization in the gaming world came with the closed agreement with Redragon, assuming control of the brand in Latin America for the marketing of all its products and brand positioning. The beginning of this relationship stemmed from our quest to meet market needs by providing quality mechanical keyboards at an affordable price, as the gap between renowned brands and entry-level brands in the category was significant.
Regarding the market segment Latamly focuses on and its business, the company targets all consumer technology goods segments that are the objectives of our brands. The main brands with high-performance product lines include Redragon and T-Dagger (gaming peripherals), Haxly (smart gadgets technology), Cecotec (home robots), Aiper (pool robots), Jackery (power generators), and XP-Pen (digital tablets). With Redragon, Latamly has built a strong community in Latin America with over 2 million people and ranks among the top three mechanical keyboard sellers in the region. Our main challenge is to have our partner brands select us for becoming relevant in the Latin American market.
Latamly, its vast portfolio:
Regarding product and service portfolios, Latamly develops product lines from different categories produced by the brands it has commercial agreements with, always prioritizing based on the needs identified in each Latin American territory.
Some examples include the Cecotec Cremmaet Compact Steam A-1802 coffee maker starting from $800, the Cecotec Bombastik 6000 Full air fryer starting from $198, the Cecotec Mambo 12090 Habana A kitchen robot starting from $1,000, the Cecotec 999 Origin X-Treme robot vacuum cleaner starting from $280, the Aiper - Seagull PRO Lite wireless pool cleaner robot starting from $1,324, the Redragon Juno joystick marketed from U$S 47,30 , the Redragon Horus mechanical keyboards starting from U$S75,26, and the Jackery Explorer 240 portable power station starting from U$S 615.-.
The key difference of Latamly from other companies in the B2B technology market lies in our ability to help international brands regionalize their message, getting involved in business control in Latin America and positioning the brand's DNA in each territory, harmonizing cultures. Our offerings are the result of a real market need, something that local consumers are not finding and that we offer with high-quality products (which is non-negotiable for us) at an affordable price.
IN: Where is the limit of expansion?
LC: Regarding Latamly's international expansion, the company has established commercial operations in 23 countries with various models, ranging from commercial partnerships to its own operations in territories, both in commercial and international logistics areas. Clearly, our goal in 10 years is to be present in all markets.
Some of the brands Latamly markets include:
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REDRAGON
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T-DAGGER
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CECOTEC
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HAXLY
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JACKERY
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AIPER
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BMAX
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XP-PEN
With this strategy, Latamly is poised to reap the rewards of its commercial growth, providing a solid and sustainable strength to expand into more markets and continue expanding its businesses, always in line with its distinctive vision and behavior.
For more information about Latamly, visit: https://latamly.com/
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