Sultan of fashion: Venezuela's Graffiti retail chain was born as a single store selling designer clothing. CEO Carlos Sultan has turned it into a house of style with hundreds of outlets—and plans to take the chain global

Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas, Dec, 2000 by Christina Hoag

Left with empty stores from the franchises he is consolidating, Sultan earlier this year launched a new chain called No Puede Ser!. About 70 percent of the products it sells are Venezuelan-made--compared to Graffiti stores, which have a product line that is 70 percent imported.

Sultan admits the move is partly a response to years of criticism that by basing its business on imports, the company has been responsible for a decline in the country's manufacturing base. "Our philosophy is to always offer the customer the best price. Whoever makes the best product at the best price, we'll buy it," he says. "We have buying offices in Peru, Spain and Hong Kong."

It is through those buying offices that Sultan is hoping to succeed with AsiaDirecto, his foray into factory-direct/online sales. Not that he is content with that effort, either. The next step, says the retail king, is food. "Within 12 months, we'll be introducing the concept of a hyper-market," he says.

Indeed, Sultan's principal worry may be too much success too soon. He is concerned that the group, which employs 6,200 people, may be expanding too fast. "We're trying to consolidate and not grow too much," he says. That may be the only goal that Grupo Sultan's CEO will fail to reach.