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Colombia - Commercial Flags - Part II

Last modified: 2024-03-02 by rob raeside
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Editorial Note: FOTW does not report commercial flags unless such flags have a vexillological value. The presentation of such a flag shouldn't be interpreted as a recommendation of any company or its products.

See also:


D1

On August 22, 2015, I spotted the flag for hard discount store "D1" (pronounced De Uno, meaning "From oneself", meaning something that belongs to oneself). D1 is the brand of the company "Koba Colombia S.A.S" (and/or Koba International, Koba Group). The company was established in 2009 and started operations initially in Medellín and then spread to other cities in the country to become one of the fastest growing businesses in the retail sector. A major stake in the company was purchased by Valórem (official website) a holding with investments in several sectors. The company was set with advisory from and using the business model from Aldi, the German company labeled as the "largest retailer in the world" (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discount_store)."
Sources: http://www.koba-group.com/empresa
http://www.dinero.com/edicion-impresa/negocios/articulo/santo-domingo-mas-recientes-adquisiciones/206928
and http://www.dinero.com/edicion-impresa/negocios/articulo/d1-esta-impulsando-a-los-proveedores-100-criollos/223530
Personal notice: See the resemblance when writing ALDI (in capitals) and D1, the last two letters making up the name of the Colombian company.
For additional information go to:
Koba Colombia S.A.S. (official website)

The flag is the logo on a square flag with a white stripe surrounding all four sides. The logo features the slogan "de todos!" (from all) meaning not only from oneself, but from all.
Esteban Rivera, 17 May 2016


Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá

image by Zoltan Horvath, 18 January 2014

ETB (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá, Bogotá Telecommunications company) known before as Empresa de Teléfonos de Bogotá (Bogotá Telephone Company), was originally established in 1884 as CTC (Companía de Teléfonos de Colombia, Colombian Telephone Company).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETB_(company)
The flag is the logo in inverted colors (that is the letters in white on a blue background), on a horizontal flag.
Image of flag taken from CM& tv news  on March 19, 2013.
For additional information go to: ETB (official website) http://www.etb.com.co/
Esteban Rivera, 14 January 2014


Exito

image by Zoltan Horvath, 27 December 2011

Grupo Exito (Exito in Spanish means "success", and has a punctuation mark in the "E", thus it should be written Éxito; however for commercial reasons to keep all the letters equal to each other on the signboards and all the publicity, the accent was stripped from the original word).
Grupo Exito started as Almacenes Exito (Exito stores) in 1922, when Luis Eduardo Yepes, a native from Medellin opened up a store in the city of Barranquilla to supply the people with all the goods needed for the local carnival, called "Carnaval de Barranquilla" (Barranquilla Carnival). Then later on, with a much wider offer, he started a series of chains in the Atlantic Coast of Colombia and named his stores LEY (an abbreviation of his initials). It is also worth mentioning that LEY in Spanish means law. Parallel to this, in 1949 Gustavo Toro Restrepo opened up the first Exito store, owned by Almacenes EXITO S.A. later on, Almacenes EXITO S.A. establishes a company called Didetexco S.A. which manufactures most of the garments and textiles sold in Exito stores.
Also parallel to this in 1905 Spaniard José Carulla Vidal establishes a store in Bogota called El Escudo Catalán (The Catalan Shield), later renamed to Carulla.
Later on LEY stores where transformed in 1959 into the holding CADENALCO (Gran Cadena de Almacenes Colombianos S.A.) which operated all LEY stores. Parallel to this, in 1967 Jorge and Margaret Bloch opened up a store named La Huerta (Market Garden) in Bogota, now called Pomona, and later expanded with several stores. Also, parallel to this in 1969 Alberto Azout established a chain store called Vivero in Barranquilla.
In 1974 CADENALCO acquires the chain store Pomona (previosuly known as Almacenes La Candelaria). In 1992 CADENALCO opened up SuperLEY stores under a new format, still keeping the old LEY stores. In 1995 Almacenes EXITO S.A. acquires a percentage in Venezuelan retail store Cativen which operates Supermercados Cada and Hipermercados EXITO in Venezuela.
Then in 1999 Casino Groupe, a French retailer store acquires a percentage in the shares of Almacenes EXITO S.A. , and in turn, Almacenes EXITO S.A. acquires a percentage of shares in CADENALCO, starting talks of a future merger, which took place effectivelly in November 2001.
In 2000, Carulla and Vivero merge into one company called Carulla Vivero S.A. and then in 2007 Almacenes Exito S.A. acquires Carulla Vivero S.A., and also Groupe Casino acquires the majority of shares in the newly created Grupo Exito.
In early 2010, Venezuelan President expropiated several EXITO stores in Venezuela and opened up for allegedly manipulating prices in the already turbulent Venezuelan Economy and its hyperinflation. The stores' names were renamed Hipermercados Bicentenario, but the EXITO logos are still seen in the stores as well as the price tags.
Currently Group Exito operates several lines:
- Hypermarkets: EXITO, Vivero hypermarket stores
- Supermarkets: Carulla, Pomona and LEY stores
- Discount stores: Bodega Surtimax stores
- Specialized stores: Home Mart stores
- Local stores: Merquefacil stores.
The flag is a yellow horizontal flag with the logo on the middle.
Sources: www.almacenesexito.com and wikipedia.
E.R., 4 March 2010

image by Eugene Ipavec, 4 March 2010
Previous flag

Exito stores has changed its flag. The current flag is the new logo in the middle in a horizontal yellow flag.
Image (third flag from left to right): Picture taken on 24 November 2011
Esteban Rivera, 25 December 2011


Federación Colombiana de Ganaderos - FEDEGAN

image by Zoltan Horvath, 22 June 2014

FEDEGAN (Federación Colombiana de Ganaderos, Colombian Federation of Cattle raisers) was established on December 13, 1963 during the IX Congreso Nacional de Ganaderos (IXth National Congress of Cattle raisers).
Source: http://www.fedegan.org.co/quienes-somos/nuestra-historia
The current flag is a white horizontal flag with the logo in inverted colors (that is, the logo in green, with green letters) in the middle. The explanation of the new image is found here.
The previous logo is seen here and the first logo is seen here.
Screenshot from CM& tv news broadcast of October 2, 2013.
For additional information go to: FEDEGAN (official website)
Esteban Rivera, 21 June 2014


Formacol

image by Randy Young, 06 February 2015

Formacol is a plastic packaging Colombian company established in 1964.
Source: http://www.formacol.com/quienes-somos/
Its flag is a white horizontal flag with the logo in the middle. The flag however, only has the logo, without the logo's inscription below. There's a picture seen here (third flag from left to right).
Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=814370&page=61
Image of flag. (Picture taken yesterday at their main office).
For additional information go to: Formacol (official website)
Esteban Rivera, 05 February 2015

Is the attached graphic an accurate representation of the Formacol flag? It was a little difficult for me to tell from the photograph, but I tried to follow your description by placing the company's logo on a white field and then erasing the inscription beneath it.
Randy Young, 06 February 2015


Grupo Olímpica

image located by Esteban Rivera, 22 January 2018

"Grupo Olímpica (English: Olimpica Grou), or Almacenes Olímpica (English: Olimpica Stores) is one of the largest retail chains. The business was started by Rafael Cuello Manjarrez, as a warehouse store in Barranquilla. Later, it was sold to a Syrian immigrant, Ricardo Char Zaslawy. The store entered the food market, as well as drugstores and began its expansion countrywise"
Sources: http://www.olimpica.com/quienes-somos/ and https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ol%C3%ADmpica_(supermercado).

Their flag is a red horizontal background featuring the logo (http://www.olimpica.com/wp-content/themes/olimpica-produccion/images/logo.png) in the middle.

For additional information go to Olímpica (official website): http://www.olimpica.com/
Esteban Rivera, 22 January 2018


Grupo Playhouse S A S

image located by Esteban Rivera, 11 April 2023

Grupo Playhouse S A S" (company denomination) and its brand, "PlayHouse Agency" were established ca. 2021. They are linked to the Spanish company CamStars. It is a company that focuses on webcam modeling.
Sources: https://www.instagram.com/playhouseagency
https://twitter.com/PlayHouseCol

It has two flags with the same basic design: a horizontal background featuring the logo (but without the word "Agency"), one over a white horizontal background and one over a black horizontal background.

Logo

image located by Esteban Rivera, 11 April 202

Sources: https://www.facebook.com/yosoyplayhouse
picture taken by Esteban Rivera on February 24, 2023).

For additional information go to Yo Soy PlayHouse (official website): https://yosoyplayhouse.com/

Esteban Rivera, 11 April 2023


HMV Ingenieros

image located by Esteban Rivera, 2 August 2018

"HMV Ingenieros is an engineering company established on November 16, 1960 by the merger of two existing companies, Mejía Villegas (from Medellín) and Hidroestudios (from Bogotá). They focus primarily on designing and building hydro power plants, but have expanded into other engineering activities as well."
Sources: http://www.h-mv.com/Nosotros/historia.aspx?Id=2&Lang=es-CO and http://www.h-mv.com/Nosotros/nosotros.aspx?Id=42&Lang=es-CO#&Lang=es-CO

Its flag is a horizontal blue background with the logo in the middle.
Picture, taken outside their Medellin office on June 26, 2018.

For additional information go to H-MV (official website): http://www.h-mv.com/
Esteban Rivera, 2 August 2018


Katering Blue

image by Randy Young, 9 August 2017

"Katering Blue is the logistics operator of the "Centro de Eventos y Convenciones de Bogotá 'Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada' (English: Events and Convention Center 'Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada'" (official website: http://kateringblue.co/katering-blue-centro-de-convenciones). Its main business is catering. According to their website, they have "a 12-year experience"
Source: http://kateringblue.co/centro-de-convenciones-eventos/

The flag is a horizontal purple flag with the logo (http://kateringblue.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/logo-katering-blue-azul.png) in the middle.

For additional information go to Katering Blue (official website): http://kateringblue.co/
Estaban Rivera, 9 August 2018


Positiva Insurance (Positiva Seguros)

image by Eugene Ipavec, 31 May 2010

On March 1 I found the flag of the Colombian Government company Positiva Seguros (Positiva Insurance). The flag can be seen in this link: http://www.cmi.com.co/?nt=48419 (Source: CM& local tv news. The link is dated July 19, 2010) The flag is an orange horizontal flag with the logo in the middle.
The logo of Positiva seguros can be located here: http://www.tiqal.com/userfiles/positiva-seguros.jpg  (notice that this version of the logo has the letters in orange, while in the flag, the colors are inverted, that is, the letters in white.) The explanation of the logo can be found here: http://www.positiva.gov.co/Portal_pos/LaCompania/NuestraCompania/NuestraMarca.aspx
The company was created by Decree No. 3147 of 2008 ( http://www.positiva.gov.co/Portal_pos/Documentos/Compania/decreto-3147-de-2008.aspx)
For additional information please go to: Positiva Seguros (official website).
Esteban Rivera, 30 May 2011


St. Even SA

image located by Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023

St. Even SA is a manufacturer and marketing underwear brand established in 1989. In 2016 they rebranded their whole corporate outlook, changing also its flag.
Sources: https://www.stevensa.com/pages/quienes-somos
https://co.linkedin.com/company/st--even
https://www.behance.net/gallery/25342915/Rediseno-Rebrand-ST-EVEN

The flag is a ruby red (almost pink) horizontal background with the logo in the middle. The logo is red over a white background but can also feature black fonts and when applied to the flag it is white over red background.
Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023

image located by Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023
Source: https://www.behance.net

image located by Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023
Source: https://www.stevensa.com/pages/quienes-somos

image located by Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023
Source: https://www.behance.net

The logo is the company's name, featuring a ruby instead of the dot in the name, as follows: "ST. EVEN is represented by the red color and its ruby heart symbol, they're expressing how women live and feel her emotions with passion.

Esteban Rivera, 24 April 2023


Servientrega

image by Eugene Ipavec, 20 February 2010

Servientrega is a Logistics and Delivery company established in 1982, currently serving several cities in Colombia, as well as six countries abroad.
Its flag is a green horizontal flag with the logo on the middle.
Source: www.servientrega.com.co
E.R., 20 February 2010


Sura

image by Randy Young, 21 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 6 May 2017

In Colombia there's an economic group (holding) called Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana S.A. (established in 1999 as Suramericana de Inversiones S.A., INVERSURA) the parent of the following subholdings:
- Suramericana de Seguros S.A. (www.suramericana.com) first established as Compañía Suramericana de Seguros S.A., in 1944. This company in 1997 split its investments in other related companies, aside from its core business in the insurance sector, thus creating Suramericana de Inversiones S. A., SURAMINV, which in turn became the mother company). Currently the name Suramericana de Seguros S.A. gathers actually two companies (for legal government reasons and regulatory rules in the country that states that a company that sells life and health insurance cannot be the same company that sells automobile and general insurance in order not to concentrate too much risk for operational reasons, thus having actually two companies, but in practice is just one). These two companies are: Seguros de Vida Suramericana S.A. and Seguros Generales Suramericana S.A.
- Compañía Suramericana Administradora de Riesgos Profesionales y Seguros de Vida S.A., SURATEP (www.suratep.com) established in 1996, now called Seguros de Riesgos Profesionales Suramericana S.A
- Compañía Suramericana Administradora de Servicios de Salud S.A., and Susalud Medicina Prepapgada, SUSALUD (www.susalud.com) established in 1990, now both merged and called EPS y Medicina Prepagada Suramericana S.A.
- I.P.S. Punto de Salud S.A., now called Servicios de Salud IPS Suramericana S.A.  
Sources: www.suramericana.com, www.gruposuramericana.com.

Grupo Sura has a new corporate reorganization and also a variant flag, with colors inverted, as seen on this desktop flag
Sources: http://www.rpp.com.pe/2012-04-13-peruanos-podran-acceder-a-seguros-de-vida-a-s--10-mensuales-noticia_471642.html
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Sura
Esteban Rivera, 21 February 2015

I was doing some research on this company and found the following: Sura Asset Management (abbreviated as SUAM) has its own
flag, seen here: http://www.sura-am.com/es/PublishingImages/gobierno-corporativo/gobierno-corporativo.jpg, source: http://www.sura-am.com/es/compania/gobierno-corporativo). It is a white horizontal flag with the name of the company and below
the words "ASSET MANAGEMENT" in blue capitals.

The Holding, previously called Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana S.A., INVERSURA) changed its brand name from INVERSURA to Grupo SURA. SUAM is a subholding established in 2011 and its main shareholders are (according to this source: https://www.gruposura.com/Inversiones/SURAAssetManagement/Paginas/default.aspx)
- Grupo SURA
- International Finance Corporation (IFC) (official website: http://www.ifc.org), part of the World Bank Group
- Grupo Bolívar (official website: http://www.sociedadesbolivar.co)
- Grupo Bancolombia (official website: http://www.grupobancolombia.com)
- General Atlantic (Investment Fund) (official website: http://www.generalatlantic.com)
- JP Morgan

It has presence in Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Perú and Uruguay through its mergers and acquisitions (source: http://www.sura-am.com/en/company/history/a>).

Its corporate identity can be found here:
hhttp://www.sura-am.com/es/compania/marca-regional

For additional information go to SUAM-AM (official website): http://www.sura-am.com/e
Esteban Rivera, 5 May 2017

Previous variant

image contributed by E.R., 23 July 2009

The flag of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana S.A., INVERSURA, as well as its subholdings mentioned above, branded for marketing reasons as SURA is the logo and the "SURA" letters in white over a blue background, as seen in the pictures (taken May 29, 2009) here, here, here and here.
The internal company bulletin is showing the new change in logo and flag.
E.R., 23 July 2009


TransMilenio

image by Zoltan Horvath, 28 January 2015

"TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The system opened to the public on December 4, 2000 (hence the name Trans Millenium). The bus fleet, the terminals and all its operation is managed by the company Trasmilenio S.A."
Sources: http://www.transmilenio.gov.co/es/articulos/historia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransMilenio
The flag is a horizontal red flag with the logo in the middle.
Image is screenshot of RCN news channel broadcast on January 19, 2015.
For additional information go to TransMilenio (official website)
Esteban Rivera, 28 January 2015


Touring & Automovil Club de Colombia - ACC

image by Zoltan Horvath, 15 September 2017

"Touring & Automovil Club de Colombia (English: Touring and Automobil Club of Colombia), or simply 'ACC', is a nonprofit organization which gives assistance to road travelers, mechanics, supports motor sports and provides related services for auto users. It was founded on October 10, 1940 in Bogotá and formalized through (Executive) Resolution No. 33 of the Ministry of Jusitce, on April 16, 1941. It is a member of FIA, AIT (Alliance Internationale de Tourisme, official website) and FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens, official website)".
Sources: http://acc.com.co/p/quienes-somos  and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_and_Automobile_Club_of_Colombia 

The flag is a dark blue horizontal background with the logo in the middle, as seen here (second flag from left to right)
Source: http://www.fiaregion4.com/novedades/noticias/simposio-nacional-automovil-club-de-colombia-fia.html
For additional information go to ACC (official website)
Esteban Rivera, 12 September 2017