Gabo Nazar

He was studying Veterinary Medicine at the University of Buenos Aires when he bought some leather and a few tools and started making belts to sell to his classmates. That is how Cardón began. Almost 40 years later, he runs two brands, a franchise network that has survived every major Argentine crisis, and an Angus cattle operation on the islands of the Paraná Delta. It is the story of someone who chose, in his own words, the bumpy road instead of the smooth one.

Choosing means giving something up

The phrase that perhaps best defines Nazar came from the man himself, and there is nothing motivational about it: in life, you have to choose, and choosing means discarding alternatives. He said it while recalling the moment he left Veterinary School. He was living in Buenos Aires, had come from Ramallo, loved the countryside, and everything suggested he might become a good veterinarian. But he discovered that his real vocation lay elsewhere: craftsmanship in silver and leather.

In 1986, while still studying, he bought leather and a few tools and began making belts that he sold to classmates, friends, and acquaintances. That was the seed. In 1988, he opened his first store in Ramallo with his own capital. Two years later, he arrived in Buenos Aires.

The idea behind it all was simple and fairly unconventional for the time: recover products and accessories rooted in the traditions of the Argentine countryside and turn them into a brand. Not a generic brand, but one with an explicitly national identity.

The invention that changed everything: franchises

In 1997, with the company already organized around quality and production standards, Nazar introduced the franchise system at Cardón. That decision, more than any individual design, explains the subsequent scale of the business.

The model follows a logic he defends with concrete arguments. It distributes profits, but it also distributes workload and risk. When a supply or financial crisis arrives, there is not a single company carrying the entire burden: there is a community of licensees and franchisees.

The size of the network has changed over time. Cardón had more than 100 locations during earlier stages of its expansion; in 2024 it operated 82 stores, only three of them directly managed by the parent company. Pampero, meanwhile, had reached 100 locations by that year.

Growing when everyone else is shrinking

His declared strategy during difficult periods is counterintuitive: that is precisely when a company should invest and capture market share. Even in adverse economic environments, Nazar has argued that contraction by competitors can create locations, customers, and opportunities for companies willing to keep moving.

It is not a theory he developed recently. He started in 1988 and since then has lived through one Argentine economic shock after another: the Primavera Plan, the 1989 crisis, convertibility, the 1995 Tequila crisis, the collapse of 2001, and the global shock triggered by Lehman Brothers in 2008.

His reading is that economic cycles exist in Argentina just as they do everywhere else, only here they are more intense: the country can grow at Chinese rates and fall at Brazilian ones.

Pampero: buying a century-old brand

In 2013 came the transaction that changed the scale of the group. Cardón acquired Pampero, the historic workwear brand founded in 1908, for 29 million pesos. The relaunch required approximately another 20 million pesos, bringing the planned investment to around 50 million.

The plan was ambitious and deliberately federal. It included a new woven-fabric production facility in Fontana, Chaco —one of Argentina’s main cotton-producing regions—, 16 exclusive stores, multibrand distribution, and sales through channels ranging from hardware stores and veterinary shops to service stations. The product portfolio included industrial, rural, adventure, and basic lines.

Behind the logistics was a conviction about productive development. Nazar backed a network of licensees manufacturing in different parts of the country, with a particular emphasis on businesses in Argentina’s interior, including small production units. His argument was straightforward: a workshop employing 20 people can transform an entire town.

A way of doing things

Over time, Nazar developed the idea that there was a Cardón way of approaching things that extended beyond clothing. That philosophy led the group into other areas, including publishing, gastronomy, real estate, hospitality, and branded products connected with travel and Argentine identity.

His explanation is almost disarmingly simple: he is restless, he likes building things, and he believes there is still an enormous amount left to do in Argentina. People travel, sleep, move around, eat, and dress, and he sees an opportunity to add value to each of those activities.

El Federal cattle operation

The less familiar side of Nazar is his work as a cattle producer, and it says a great deal about where he comes from. He maintains a commercial herd on the islands of the Paraná Delta, in a type of livestock production he describes as rustic and primitive, with working conditions that only people familiar with the islands fully understand.

That experience led to El Federal, his own cattle breeding operation, which works with a Red Angus line focused on adaptability to environments such as the Delta. The original goal was to produce bulls for his own herd. Later, as Nazar puts it, he became interested in taking the project more seriously. The next stage is aimed at producing breeding animals for the broader region.

In 2026, that personal passion intersected with his business. Cardón entered into an alliance with the Argentine Angus Association to produce and market Angus-branded apparel and merchandise through its franchise network and e-commerce platform, including benefits for association members. The agreement had been signed toward the end of 2025 and made its public debut at the 2026 Autumn Angus Expo.

For Nazar, the move was almost obvious. He has spent his life close to the countryside and says Cardón has participated continuously in the Rural Exhibition since 1989. The alliance brought together two parts of his life that had long existed side by side: the cultural identity of Cardón and his involvement in cattle production.

What he tells people who are just starting out

His definition of an entrepreneur is not centered on money. He argues that entrepreneurship is not limited to people who create economic value. An entrepreneur can be anyone who feels uncomfortable with a reality and develops the urge to change it. That may lead to a company, a social project, or an effort to address an infrastructure problem.

His second piece of advice is less heroic and more practical: have the humility to recognize what you lack and allow yourself to be helped by someone who has it, whether that person is a partner, employee, investor, or even a public official who can be persuaded to change a policy.

And then there is the image that summarizes his entire career: the bumpy road. Nazar chose the uneven path of creating his own brand with a distinct Argentine identity rather than the smooth road of a secure profession. Almost four decades, two major brands, a nationwide franchise network, and a cattle operation in the Delta later, that choice still explains him.