Colombia’s Johanna Ortiz Works to Become a $10 Million Brand

CALI, Colombia — Designer Johanna Ortiz has big expansion plans for her brand, targeting $10 million in sales by 2021 when she intends to have 50 stockists worldwide. In 2017, the label is targeting a 20 percent increase in sales to $7.2 million as it adds new space in Neiman Marcus, debuts at London’s Selfridges and launches her first capsule collections for Bergdorf Goodman and Net-a-porter. Since grabbing the spotlight with her off-shoulder tops (and inspiring a flurry of copy-cat designs) in spring 2014, Ortiz has seen a rapid expansion. Turnover rose 247 percent to $6 million last year, as her Caribbean-glam dresses won followings in Paris and New York. Her production rose to 17,000 pieces from around 7,000 in 2015. In the past year, she has expanded staff to 230 people from 50. But the designer was quick to note she isn’t seeking to grow too big, too fast. “We are working with the retailers we want to work with and want to keep things exclusive and position the brand as a luxury designer one, not a commercial one,” Ortiz told WWD from her Cali atelier and office building where she employs 180 seamstresses making dresses that retail for an average of $2,500. “The idea

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