Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – The WS Marketing Consultancy company, headquartered in Manama, capital of Bahrein, is seeking Brazilian companies to represent in the Middle East. WS is owned by two Brazilians, Walter Carvalho and Sérgio Santos, and distributes products from Brazil in the region, especially in the Gulf. Carvalho told ANBA, by telephone, that WS represents approximately 15 Brazilian companies interested in exporting to the region, as well as Arab companies willing to invest in Brazil.
WS Marketing Consultancy distributes all kinds of Brazilian products for which there is a market in the region, such as foodstuffs, commodities, furniture and fashion items. The companies it represents include Brazilian jewellers Fiamma and Vancox, traditional exhibitors at fairs in the Arab world. WS usually provides assistance to the jewellers during their participation in fairs in the region. WS also provides research services to Brazilians, so they can know whether there is a demand for their products in the region, and what the local market outlook for their segment is.
"We do this research work, we do representation work, we offer the possibility for companies to showcase their products in showrooms, and of our being their office in Bahrein," Walter Carvalho sums it up. WS Marketing Consultancy owns a space where the company exhibits Brazilian products in Manama. The focus is on representing Brazilian products, but they are also contemplating other possibilities, such as importing and distributing Chinese commodities on the local market.
Carvalho says he had trouble placing Brazilian products in the region due to transportation costs. He transports the commodities in aeroplanes and ships. "The freight for commodities often costs nearly the same as the commodities themselves," he says. Carvalho believes it would be important for the Brazilian government to set a limit for freight prices. "Or else producers have to reduce their profit margins in order to export," he claims. Another problem, according to him, is the lack of investment from national companies in quality promotional material, such as catalogues in English. "This is a big obstacle."
The WS Marketing Consultancy company was established by Carvalho and Santos four years ago, in Bahrein. Carvalho, a native of the southeastern Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, has lived in the Arab country for nine years now. Before establishing his own company, he was the CEO in a real estate company in Bahrein. He claims that the country currently has a strong currency, and a minimum wage of roughly US$ 500. Out of approximately 750,000 citizens of Bahrein, says Carvalho, 75% are foreigners. "The local industry is small, consisting basically of oil, steel, and natural gas. They import virtually everything," he says.
Contact
WS Marketing Consultancy
Telephone: (+973) 17795 239
E-mail: walter@brazilnative.net
Site: www.brazilnative.net
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
