One partner.
All of LATAM.
Most companies entering Latin America get the region wrong — the wrong partner, the wrong channels, the wrong product specs, or the wrong brand positioning. We've spent 15 years on the inside of that problem, running regional P&Ls and distributor networks for global hardware brands across 13 markets.
Encasa Brands can guide you through that complexity — from advisory and market entry strategy to full commercial execution. Whatever the arrangement, we bring the operator's perspective that most consultants don't have and most importers can't offer.
Based in Miami. Built for Latin America.
LATAM is not one market.
Most international brands either underinvest in the region or burn resources managing fragmented local relationships across 20+ countries. We replace all of that with one partner who has already spent 15 years building the relationships, navigating the regulations, and learning which channels actually move product in each market.
-
From Mexico City to Santiago, we manage your commercial presence across the region — so you don’t have to hire local teams in each country or manage a patchwork of uncoordinated distributors.
-
Labeling requirements, import duties, pricing norms, and retail structures vary dramatically across LATAM. We have operated inside these rules for 15 years. We know what compliance looks like in Panama versus Peru, and what it costs to get it wrong.
-
The distributors who control shelf space in San Jose, Santo Domingo, and Bogota are not found on Alibaba. They are known through years of face-to-face business. We bring those relationships to your brand from day one.
WHAT WE DO
Three ways we create value
We operate across three models depending on what a brand needs. All three draw on the same 15 years of in-market experience.
-
We serve as the exclusive commercial operator for your brand in LATAM markets — managing in-country distributor relationships, negotiating retail placement with regional chains, overseeing pricing and product compliance, and reporting sell-through performance back to you. You keep your brand. We deliver the market. Best for: brands with proven US or international sales looking for LATAM revenue without building local infrastructure.
-
We hold category licenses and operate your brand within defined LATAM markets — sourcing compliant product, managing retail and wholesale partners, and maintaining brand standards. We have managed major international hardware brands at scale and understand what licensors require: market penetration, brand protection, and clean financial reporting. Best for: brand owners looking to monetize LATAM market presence without direct operations.
-
If you are ready to build your own LATAM commercial team, we help you build it right. We assess your distribution options market by market, design your channel and pricing architecture, and help you identify and onboard local commercial leadership. We have built this infrastructure from scratch across 13 markets. Best for: companies with sufficient scale to justify direct LATAM investment.
OUR MARKETS
Mexico
1
Active distributor coverage across all six Nielsen commercial regions. Key retail relationships with regional home improvement chains. Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey are priority commercial hubs.
Central america and the caribbean
2
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas
andean & north
3
Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
southern cone
4
Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay
CHANNEL EXPERTISE
We speak every channel.
LATAM's home improvement market is fragmented across channel types. We know how to navigate all of them — and which to prioritize in each market.
-
Sodimac, Home Depot, EPA, Kywi, Novey, and all other major regional chains. High volume, strong brand visibility, structured trade terms.
-
Home improvement specialty chains with strong category focus and loyal contractor customer bases at the national level.
-
Design and specification showrooms serving architects, developers, and high-end residential. Longer sales cycles, premium positioning, higher margins.
-
The backbone of LATAM hardware. Independent neighborhood stores driving the majority of volume — reached effectively through our distributor network.
-
Regional distributors serving hundreds of points of sale across single or multi-country territories. The critical intermediary layer in most LATAM markets.
-
Developers, contractors, and project specifiers driving large-volume commercial and residential demand. Relationship-led and specification-driven.
Business is personal.
The name Encasa comes from a simple idea — every partner, every distributor, every customer should feel at home doing business with us. Long-term relationships. Straight talk. Quality products. That is the model.
Leadership
david blanchard
Founder & CEODavid Blanchard has spent 15 years in the hardware and home improvement industry, culminating in senior executive roles managing P&Ls, distributor networks, and brand portfolios across 13 markets from Mexico to the Southern Cone.
He grew up in Chile and lived in Trinidad and Tobago before completing his education in the United States, giving him native fluency in Latin American and Caribbean commercial culture that most regional executives — and most Miami-based distributors — simply don't have.
After working across several industries in the United States, he returned to Latin America as a Marketing Manager for an electronics distributor in Santiago — the role that anchored his commercial career in the region. He then joined Stanley Black & Decker's Hardware and Home Improvement division, which was subsequently acquired by Spectrum Brands. That acquisition became the foundation for his full regional leadership career: at Spectrum Brands, he rose from Product Manager to General Manager for Latin America, building a hardware business spanning 13+ markets with a team of 80+. In that role, he managed the full P&L — distributor selection and performance, pricing strategy, sell-through analytics, and brand compliance — for hardware brands sold across modern retail and traditional trade throughout the region.
He later served as VP of Business Development at ASSA ABLOY Americas, a global leader in access solutions, before founding Encasa Brands.
He holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and a BA in Economics from Occidental College.
Most LATAM distribution relationships are managed by importers who have never worked inside a global brand — and by global brands that have never had a true regional operator as a partner. David has been both. Encasa Brands is the bridge neither side ever had.
Based in Aventura, Florida — the natural gateway to Latin America.