São Paulo – Vendôme Luxury, a fashion fair in Paris, was the gateway for Brazilian brand Anamaria Couture in the Arab countries. After displaying its high-end dresses in the 2010 version of the event, the pieces from stylist Ana Maria Macedo went directly to the most sophisticated department stores and fashion boutique from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates.
Today, she sells her pieces to stores like Harvey Nichols, Etre, Silloutte Fashions, Eyat, Lati and Life, in Saudi Arabia, besides Loomi (Qatar), Sauce (UAE) and Aïshti (Lebanon). The Saudi shops are the brand’s main clients in the Arab world and the Middle East countries are the second largest market for Anamaria exports, behind only the United States.
“They buy in large quantities, want exclusive pieces. They change the sleeves, cleavage and the length of skirts”, says Macedo about the Saudi clients of Harvey Nichols. Harvey Nichols and Etre are stores to which the Brazilian designer sells exclusive pieces and also the biggest buyers of the brand in Saudi Arabia.
According to Macedo, Harvey Nichols places two orders per year, usually around 300 dresses. “We launch two collections, but sometimes they ask for more pieces for replacement and we even reach four deliveries”, she says. In the United States, the brand’s dresses are sold at prices that vary from US$ 375 to US$ 950. In the Arab countries, Macedo says that the prices are higher because of taxes.
Macedo reveals that she’s still designing a new collection specifically for the Arab clients. “They like volume and now I introduced a little spark in the collection. You can use the dresses on both sides. They like these more sophisticated things. This is the richest collection that I’ve done in terms of beauty, structure and colors”, says the designer.
According to the entrepreneur, her brand sells in 12 countries. Besides the aforementioned ones, there are also Great Britain, Sweden, Mexico, Spain and Germany. Macedo lives in New York, but all production is in Brazil. According to her, 95% of brand’s dresses are for the global market.
Anamaria Couture also has a line of accessories, such as shoes and bags. Macedo says the the shoes will also be exported to Arab countries, since the company established a partnership with a Brazilian shoemaker for the production of high-end shoes with the same lining as the dresses. The stylist says that the collection was specially made for the Arab clients, who traditionally wear a bigger size.
Contact
Anamaria Couture
Website: www.anamariacouture.com.br
Exports diretor: Cátia Macedo
Phone.: +1 561 460 551
Email: catia@anamariacouture.com
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
