São Paulo – The plan is to invest in basic-but-good-looking items in order to grow on the foreign market. For 2 Rios, a lingerie manufacturing company based in the city of Joinville, in the state of Santa Catarina, panties and bras must be, first of all, functional and pleasant to wear. The enterprise, which has 200 employees and makes 200,000 items per month, currently sells to the entire Brazilian territory and to 15 other countries, mostly South American. For 2011, the plan is to take intimate apparel from the interior of Santa Catarina to the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and the United States.
"The United States is a market that we have been working on for some time," explains Matheus Diogo Fagundes, the vice president of 2 Rios. "As for Dubai, we had a meeting with a distributor in Paris who operates in the region. Regarding Lebanon, we are in touch with a local company," he claims.
According to the executive, expectations about the closing of deals with the Arab world are the best possible. "Those are very promising, high-purchasing-power markets in which sales revolve around product quality, rather than just the lowest prices," says Fagundes. Presently, foreign sales account for 15% of the brand’s revenues.
To get there, 2 Rios is counting on items such as 3D bra cups, featured in the Sensitive line. "The 3D cup does not wrinkle and is softer, comfortable. Not to mention that it is made from a micro-fibre in order to better absorb the sweat," explains Fagundes.
The company releases two collections a year: autumn/winter and spring/summer. Besides, it makes periodical launches every six months – one focusing on Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, in the first half, and the other geared towards high summer in Brazil, in the second half. "We focus on basic, functional items for daily use, but with differentiated details such as printed straps and hooks, for instance," says Fagundes.
According to the vice president of 2 Rios, the challenge is to combine comfort and fashion. "Lingerie nowadays follows trends, they create the look together with the upper clothing," he explains. In this respect, the enterprise also offers a larger-sized line named Plus, numbered 46 to 52. "It has beautiful items featuring prints designed to make mature women younger," he says.
In order to reach mature and young women in Arab countries, Fagundes explains that from now on, 2 Rios intends to participate in events coordinated by organizations such as the Brazilian Textile Industry Association (Abit) in the region. "These are good opportunities to establish the image of Brazil as possessing quality and innovation in this industry," he claims.
Contact
Telephone: (+55 55) 0800 600-0032
Site: www.2riosmodaintima.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
