Shop Latinx

Shop Latinx (also referred to as SLX) is a Los Angeles-based online platform that curates and sells goods created by Latinx founders and creators across beauty, fashion, accessories, home and lifestyle categories. It was created by Brittany Chavez in 2016, initially as an Instagram account and a database of Latino-owned businesses, and later launched as a curated e-commerce marketplace at shoplatinx.com. Brands carried on the marketplace have included the bath and body brand Nopalera, the fragrance house Shocks of Love and the footwear label MCLC.

The company positions itself as an alternative to general marketplaces such as Etsy for Latinx and BIPOC brands, with the founder arguing that mainstream retail and marketing treat Latino consumers as a monolith. In May 2023 the company launched Our Paradiso, a beauty and wellness concept vertical, which the founder subsequently discontinued, citing thin retailer margins and the operational burden of fulfilment. As of late 2023 the founder described a shift away from a venture-scale marketplace strategy toward operating Shop Latinx as a community-centric content hub that highlights small businesses, designers and creatives.

Founding story

Brittany Chavez, an Los Angeles native of Guatemalan and Nicaraguan descent, began compiling a Shop Latinx database in 2016 after finding it difficult to locate Latino-owned businesses online, during a period she associates with anti-Latino rhetoric around the U.S. presidential election. She built the project while working as an Uber driver and nanny, using driving shifts to network and pitch the idea, and grew an Instagram following before launching the website. She later said that the project also grew out of a personal reconnection with her heritage.

Business model

Shop Latinx operates an online marketplace that aggregates and sells products from independent Latinx-owned brands, alongside marketing, editorial content, in-person activations, exclusive products and brand partnerships. Following a 2023 strategic shift, the company has emphasized a community and content platform model that promotes Latinx businesses and creatives.

Revenue is generated through the e-commerce marketplace selling third-party Latinx-owned brands' products, with planned additional activity in exclusive products, brand partnerships and editorial content.

Traction

At the time of the October 2021 pre-seed announcement, the site reported 100,000 engaged users and more than 600 products from 30 brands, a 226% sales increase from the second to the third quarter of 2021, and a team of four full-time employees. The precursor Instagram account had more than 38,000 followers and the database covered about 900 businesses ahead of the 2019 site launch.

Latest developments

In a November 2023 interview, the founder said she had paused the venture-scale growth path, shut down the Our Paradiso beauty vertical, and refocused Shop Latinx as a content and community hub aimed at a next generation of entrepreneurs and culture-oriented consumers.