Mexican retailer enters US market

A Mexican 'cheap chic' retailer with 64 stores in its home country, has opened its first store in the US. Shasa says the Houston store is just the first of 100 planned by 2012. Some might consider this an inopportune moment to be opening new stores:

Trendy vendor and possible competitor Wet Seal reported that its net revenue fell to $593 million last year from $611 million in 2007. Clothing retailers like Ann Taylor, Eddie Bauer and Gap have shuttered stores across the nation of late. And retailers like Meryvn’s and Steve & Barry’s declared bankruptcy last year.

But the store owners are undetered:

“It’s the best time to enter. From here, it’s all up,” Armando Dollero said as he toured the 6,300-square-foot store on opening day.

The recession is also forcing customers to exchange expensive name brands for cheaper retailers, Carlo Dollero said.

“We’re getting a market we didn’t have before,” he said, adding that sales in Mexico shot up 42 percent last year compared to 2007.

Good luck to them. I love that attitude.