Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Around 15 Arab businessmen participating in the Brazilian Furniture and High-end Decoration Accessory Fair, which began on Saturday (18) and ends today (21) in São Paulo. Importers from Jordan, Qatar, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates closed deals at the fair. "The Arab market is large and is the great bet for Brazilian high-end decoration furniture," declared the person responsible for the International Relations department at the Brazilian High-End Furniture Manufacturers Association (Abimad), Rafael Molon.
According to the export manager of Niroflex, the largest leather sofa industry in Brazil, Fernando Christian Budny, the company made sales of over US$ 100,000 to Arab importers. "I believe in the potential of this market. They seek products with greater added value," he said.
The company, based in the state of Paraná, produces 1,500 seats a day and exports 80% of production to over 25 countries. "We are investing US$ 1 million in technology," stated Budny. The company has already closed deals with importers from Jordan and Qatar and is negotiating with a businessman from Dubai.
Other Brazilian companies that also sold to the Arabs were Minuano, a maker of leather upholstered products, based in the city of Rio Grande do Sul, and Modulaque, an industry from Paraná. "I am going to start importing a container of leather sofas," stated the director of Palestinian company Modulus, Kandil Mahmoud. The company imports office and kitchen furniture, mainly from Germany, Italy and Austria. "This is the first time we import from Brazil," added Mahmoud.
Modulus has two showrooms, one in Palestine and another in Israel. "We work on projects for the furnishing of banks, houses and apartments," stated Mahmoud. Apart from office and kitchen furniture, the businessman intends to start importing high-end furniture for bedrooms. According to him, the company imports between US$ 2 million and US$ 3 million a year. "I intend to close deals of around US$ 50,000 in Brazil," he added.
Saudi Arabia
Mohammed A. Al Akkas, the director general of Saudi group AG Al Akkas Trading Group, which operates in general trading, project management, and interior design, among others, wants to open a differentiated Brazilian furniture showroom in Saudi Arabia. "The idea is to decorate a mansion just with Brazilian products and open it to women," he said.
According to Akkas, Brazilian furniture is not yet known in the Arab market. "Brazilian companies need to be more aggressive on the Arab market. They need to work together with companies from the Arab world," he said.
The Saudi group, inaugurated three years ago in Damman, is after Brazilian companies that may export furniture and decoration accessories to furnish hotels, houses and apartments. "We operate with great projects in Saudi Arabia and there are great opportunities for Brazilian companies on the Arab market. However, they need to go after it," stated Akkas. According to him, Brazilian companies have quality furniture, but prices are high. "Companies need to be more flexible. After all, those who do not dare, do not succeed," added the businessman, in Portuguese.
First time in Brazil
Most of the Arab businessmen present at the Abimad fair are in the country for the first time. According to the Project and Tenders Department manager at Jordanian company Midas, Ibrahim Abu Rayyan, his main interest in Brazil is living room, dining room, bedroom and office furniture and decoration accessories. "I believe that the Arab market is going to like the Brazilian furniture as it has novelties in design and in creativity, and that is what they are after," he said.
Midas, the second largest furniture importer in the Middle East, has ten stores in Arab countries, eight in Kuwait, one in Baghdad, Iraq, and another in Amman, Jordan. According to Rayyan, the company imports between 10 and 15 containers a month and last summer this figure was increased by 20%.
This was also the first time that Dubai businessman Saber Sharafi came to Brazil. Sharafi works with the import of European fabrics for sofa upholstery and is interested in starting importing leather sofas. "Brazilian furniture is one of the best," he said. According to him, 95% of his clients are Europeans who live in Dubai.
Expanding market
In the days before the fair, on Thursday (16) and Friday (17), Abimad organized roundtables with 87 importers from various countries. According to Molon, the roundtables should generate around US$ 30 million in business for the next 12 months.
"The bet on the Arab market is so great that we have even established a consortium focussed exclusively on them," stated the export director of consortium CHM, Carlos Moreira. According to him, the Arab market is in expansion, especially in the United Arab Emirates, where many hotels and houses are being built. "They are after high-end furniture," he said.
According to Moreira, Brazilian furniture is up to the standards of the Arab world. "Arabs are very demanding, they want greater attention and we must worry about this," he said.
Service
Brazilian Furniture and High-end Decoration Accessory Fair
Date: February 18 to 21
Time: From 10:00 am to 07:00 pm
Site: Imigrantes Exhibition Centre
Address: Rodovia dos Imigrantes, km 1,5
Telephone: (+55 11) 5067 6767
*Translated by Mark Ament
