Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Isaias Rodriguez.
Juan Isaias, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Our story began in 1984 in Tijuana Mexico. I was 17 years old at the time and about to start college. At around the same time, an opportunity came up to open a small store at the local farmers market in Tijuana. With no business experience whatsoever but with all the willingness in the world and a lot of hope, I embarked on the adventure. I ran the small shop from 7 in the morning to 3 in the afternoons, at which point my mother would come and take over my shift so I could attend classes at night. Those were good years.
The business started growing and I got to finish school and earn my degree graduate in business. While in college, I also met the girl who would become my wife a few years later. In 1993 Elsa and I got married and soon after we had our first child, our daughter Ninett. Meanwhile, our business kept growing. We opened two new retail spots and a warehouse, where we started distributing our goods to some of our competitors and different businesses in our city.
From a very young age, exporting authentic Mexican products to the U.S. and beyond, was always a dream that I had for my business. In 1997 the time came and I was determined to open up shop in the U.S. At the time, my wife Elsa was working as a high ranking executive in one of the largest financial institutions in Mexico, but we both saw the potential in our small business, and we knew that together we could build something great.
She quit her job, and we came to the U.S. to open a small warehouse in San Ysidro CA. Since we were still living in Tijuana, we had to arrange an L1 Visa to be able to cross the border on a daily basis and conduct business. It was really hard in the beginning. Sales were very low and we were trying to run two separate businesses in two different countries, all while raising a new family. We never lost hope and we continued to keep work hard. The hours were long and we knew we had to keep innovating.
By 1999 we started attending trade shows across the U.S. and slowly but surely, our sales began to increase. With a little bit more experience under our belt, we began to understand the landscape and found ways to reach out to bigger clients. That same year our son Maxi was born and as an old Mexican saying goes: “Traia Torta Bajo el Brazo” meaning he brought good luck with him. By the year 2000, we were selling our goods to large companies with stores all over the U.S. such as Burlington Coat Factory, Kirkland’s, Home Goods, TJ Max, Marshalls, Ross, and Nordstrom. Soon, we moved out of the small warehouse we were renting in San Ysidro and were able to invest in a large facility in Otay Mesa, our current address.
After 9/11 security at the border increased and so did the waiting times for crossing. Waiting 4-5 hours to get to work every day became very difficult. Our kids were also getting older and we wanted to be able to provide a better future and education for them, so we decided to move to California. By 2005 competition from China had hit us hard as they started manufacturing and importing the same or very similar furniture and decoration items as we were importing from Mexico for half the price.
Despite the fact our products were of better quality and mostly handmade, we were unable to compete. We realized we had to reinvent our business so we shifted the ways of our company and started importing a different kind of goods. We aimed to serve a different segment of the market- one that was growing rapidly in California. We were now targeting the Hispanic consumer.
In many ways, we had to start from the ground up. We had zero clients for our new line of products, but we were cognizant of the fact that this time, we could count on an infrastructure that we had spent years building and we now knew how to run a business in America.
Today “La Mexicana” is one of the largest distributors of authentic Mexican housewares in the U.S. We cater to hundreds of Hispanic grocery stores through our distributors. Our products can usually be found in Hispanic supermarkets like Northgate, Vallarta, Superior, El Super, Mi Pueblo, SUPERVALU, and Cardenas Supermarkets among others. Our business in Mexico also keeps growing and La Mexicana now owns 11 retail stores in Tijuana and Mexicali and distributes its goods to most major retailers in Baja.
We are very proud of our business and the fact that Mexican hand-made products can be found in prestigious retail stores all over the U.S. This is all thanks to the extraordinary effort of the many people around me. My wife Elsa, my daughter Ninett, and my son Max -who are now both attending college in New York- are always involved in the business and bring valuable new input and fresh ideas to the business. Our extraordinary team of more than 100 members on both sides of the border help bring the magic and traditions of Mexico to this country we love so much and that we call home.
Please tell us about La Mexicana.
We import and distribute Mexican handmade housewares and art crafts.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lamexicana.us/
- Phone: (619)661 8000
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @magicatradicion
- Facebook: @magicatradicion
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
