São Paulo – Expo Riva Middle East, a fair in the shoe sector to take place in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates from February 9th to 11th, should exhibit Sapatoterapia shoes. "This should be the second edition of the fair and we are participating for the second time. If we base ourselves on the first participation, specifically remembering the deals closed, we find the fair very good, as it reached our objectives," stated the export manager at the company, Daniel Figueiredo.
Sapatoterapia, headquartered in Franca, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, has been exporting to the Arab market for five years. Its clients are in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Lebanon. According to Figueiredo, the main interest in participating in the fair is to increase participation in the region. "We always seek new clients," he said.
According to the manager, the company has managed to sell a large volume of male shoes to the Arabs, both in closed shoes and sandals. "It is undoubtedly a potential market, (sales to the region are) growing each year," he said. Exports to the Arabs represent around 20% of the company’s foreign sales, and it exports to over 50 countries.
The organizers of the Brazilian stand at Expo Riva Middle East are the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados), which is also betting on sector sales to the region. "The Arab market is included in the shoe sector strategies, as it is a relevant market with regard to quality and prices," said Vivian Laube, marketing advisor at Brazilian Footwear, a shoe export promotion program developed by Abicalçados in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
According to Vivian, last year the Emirates increased by 21.85% the volume of pairs of shoes they buy from Brazil, totalling 1.329 million pairs. In terms of value, exports grew 35.8%, to US$ 18.3 million. The Arab country is among the 20 main markets for the Brazilian shoe sector.
Despite the growth in sales to the region, there has been a great reduction in the number of Brazilian exhibitors to participate in the Expo Riva Middle East this year. In the last edition, Abicalçados took 13 companies to the fair, which generated around US$ 6.3 million. In this edition, only Sapatoterapia is going to exhibit.
According to Vivian, the lower number of exporters is normal for a period of international crisis, so much so that Italy is also going to reduce the number of companies sent. What is important, in her evaluation, is maintenance of the Brazilian presence in this and in other events, so that the buyers may have confidence in the volume of business.
Even in times of crisis, Sapatoterapia is optimistic. "The saying is that it is during crises that you can grow, and I believe that," said Daniel. "The idea is really to increase sales, continuing with our current customers and selling to new ones. Expectations are excellent, as our product, which is turned to the comfort line, has great identification with the Arab market," he added.
The fair
In the first edition of Expo Riva Middle East, which took place last year, the fair included the participation of 250 exhibitors and over 1,000 buyers mainly from the GCC (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman). Leather accessories, male, female and children’s shoes and sandals were the main products traded in the event.
Contact
Sapatoterapia
Site: www.sapatoterapia.com.br
Expo Riva Middle East
Data: 9th to 11th of February
Site: Expo Center Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Site: www.exporivaschuhme.com
*Translated by Mark Ament
