São Paulo – Brazilian model and TV host Ana Hickmann (pictured above) will get her licensed products sold in 18 Arab countries. The agreement was reached this Tuesday (7) at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo, with Egyptian importer Mowafak Refaat Afifi, of Middle East Commercial Co. YAK, who had already been reselling Ana Hickmann eyeglasses to major outlets since 2009 in Egypt.
“I first became aware of the Ana Hickmann brand out of pure luck, in 2009, at an eyewear show in Italy (MIDO, the International Optics, Optometry and Ophthalmology Exhibition, in Milan). Up to that point I didn’t know who she was, but I really liked the quality and pricing of her glasses, and we began buying small amounts of them,” said Afifi.
According to the importer, from 2009 to 2017, sales in Egypt increased by 815%, and he hopes to reach the 1000% mark by the end of 2018. “My nickname in Egypt is Mowafak ‘Ana Hickmann.’ I was the one who brought the brand into the country. No one knew about it, and now we have waiting lists,” he said. The eyeglasses, the first Ana Hickmann-branded product, were launched in Brazil in 2002; they started being exported in 2009, and now the eyewear line is sold in 55 countries.
The Ana Hickmann company became an Arab Chamber member last Friday (7). Under its new contract with Afifi, it will see several products licensed in Egypt and 17 other Middle East and North Africa countries: the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Libya and Iraq.
According to Ana Hickmann company CEO Gustavo Correa, this is the first time a Brazilian model and TV host gets a full product line shipped across the Middle East. Already licensed items include clothing, lingerie, eyeglasses, purses, cosmetics, perfumes and shoes.
The brand’s export representative Mario Montenegro said some of the items will require adapting, like the clothes, which need to be more on the conservative side, and the material with which the purses are made, for instance. “We will also put out a line of hijab, the scarf Muslim women wear. We are already working on a few models,” said Montenegro.
“But we are bringing Ana Hickmann’s brand and image, and it can grow to be associated with other products in those countries,” Montenegro explained. From now on, Afifi will seek out investors to start franchise deals, with dedicated outlets and kiosks. He will no longer sell the items out of department or multi-brand stores.
“We believe in the brand and we want to introduce Ana Hickmann to the Egyptian public. We intend for her to visit our country. We are planning to make an official invitation by January 2019. We want people to know the person behind the brand, which is already very well accepted in the country as it is,” said Afifi.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
