Interview with José Ríos, a nationally renowned entrepreneur, who talks about his career, the future of his company, the keys to success and provides advice for young people starting their working life.
After more than 50 years in the textile industry, if you look back, what would you say to that child who started dreaming about fabrics?
I would tell him that it is an exciting world, that he should fall in love with it and live it very naturally. The most important thing is the “infatuation” that will make you build a great project without weighing you down at all.
Rioma now operates in more than 80 countries, how does the international market receive Rioma’s collections?
Rioma has been a reference in the textile sector for many years. Not only has it been for having innovated with highly successful fabrics and pioneered trends, but it has also been a mirror for many companies in the textile sector. The international market sees what Rioma does as a great novelty. This is really true because for more than 50 years we have been offering the market trends, uniqueness and novelties that make us a company with an identity. We are admired by many for our unique and different fabrics and for the design and colorful contribution we make to them.
What do you think is the differentiating element of the Rioma product?
At Rioma, what we value most is knowing a lot about textiles. We had and we have healthy ambitions to have concerns and learn a lot about textiles despite not having a tradition in our land of the same. The fact of being isolated from a textile core always makes the stresses greater. For more than 50 years we have been learning about all types of fabrics, from silk, wool, flame retardant, technical fabrics, or natural and organic fabrics, which are the ones we like the most. The most important thing for us is to make products with identity. Our inspiration comes from our analysis of the market and our interpretation of it, not from analyzing our competitors. Logically, we meet the demands of our customers by providing our uniqueness but rather our source of inspiration is in nature, in fabrics of our ancestors, in cultural trends, works of art, etc … where we bring our vision and thus create a differentiation from the rest of the market, which gives us our own identity and innovative character.
Today, do you still have any dreams to fulfill in the professional field?
Our dream has always been to make a more responsible textile. To this end, we believe in the natural origin of fabrics such as silk, wool, cotton, linen, etc.
More than 40 years ago, we refused to collaborate with companies that dumped their waste into rivers as a matter of responsibility and environmental awareness, and we even collaborated and supported many of these companies in the installation of wastewater treatment plants in their plants. Today, we have a clear direction towards natural fabrics and also technical fabrics, as the market in many segments, such as the hospitality industry, is demanding and requires it. However, our main interest is unquestionably in natural fabrics and dyes, where we would like to see greater consumer demand, as this is a goal for the common good where unfortunately there is a lot of talk but very little action. We dream and work for a clean and sustainable textile industry using natural and recycled fabrics.
What role has Rioma played in your life?
Being an entrepreneur and father of 8 children requires a lot of dedication and love. It absorbs you 14-16 hours a day and not many people want to accept that. In my case, my main motivation has always been to raise a family and to be an example for my children when situations are hard. I have always considered myself privileged to have a family like the one I have, and at certain times they are the key to overcoming difficulties and challenges. I have lived through professional and personal situations and moments that make you very sad, but I have always tried to grow in the face of life’s adversities, to take the position to move forward and never to give up. It has been hard because of the complexity of the sector, in which we have maintained a daily struggle for sustainability where it was not understood. Defending the use of wastewater treatment plants, organic dyes, environmental protection, has been an important effort. The desire to do things with transcendence, with responsibility, to raise a family has been the driving force in my life. I can’t complain at all, but I can say that there have been gray days along the way and that there are no roses without thorns.
What advice would you give to young people who are just starting out in the working world?
It is an exciting world that allows you freedom of creation and execution. The most important thing is knowledge, so we have to start with training and falling in love with the job will make this whole process much easier. When you are in love with it, effort ceases to be effort. Knowledge together with a positive, human, responsible and constant attitude are for me the most important pillars.
How do you envision Rioma’s future?
It will be a great company, an example of humanism, solidarity, social responsibility and responsibility to the planet, with a professional team with extensive technical and market knowledge. I think it will be a company with global projection where it will play with its best cards, which are publishing and manufacturing to be able to reach the end consumer directly. I understand that these products will be the natural fabrics, more environmentally responsible and will be developed with better performance. I also believe that the Rioma family can feel proud to belong to a human and supportive business project where resources are shared with the most disadvantaged groups such as children and environmental protection. All this effort will have been worthwhile as long as people feel that they are the true protagonists of this project. I started this path, I feel privileged and I can only be grateful.
I hope that my grandchildren will also be able to continue with the business and corporate social responsibility project, that it will make them grow as people and professionals and that they will be able to enjoy this world like their grandfather.
Finally, do you think there is a key to success?
The only key to success is work, knowledge, perseverance, effort, love and “being people”. Without this it is very difficult to get anywhere, success is a mixture of all of this. The most important thing about success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to become the best version of yourself and planting seeds that benefit others.
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you like what you’re doing, you will be a success” – Albert Schweitzer –
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