São Paulo – The entrepreneurship of businessman Marcos Silveira Santos turned what might have been a sob story into a success case. A former employee at a button factory that went bankrupt, Santos decided to summon his colleagues and set up his own plant. That was 36 years ago. Now, the labour of Jomar Botões reaches all of Brazil and is gaining space overseas.
"American buyers came to [the state of] Rio Grande do Norte and saw our product at a haberdashery, so they got our tag and decided to deal directly with the manufacturer," says Santos of Jomar’s newest customers.
The company began exporting two years ago to Chile, in a very similar story to that of the US importers. Chilean businessmen travelled to Brazil, saw the buttons in a neighbourhood in the east side of São Paulo, and made the company’s first international purchase.
"We sell by means of another company. They are in charge of negotiation and transportation. We only deliver the product,” says the businessman. The other company is trading company ELP Comércio Exterior. "We have no English or Spanish speakers in our roster, so they do that job for us,” he explains.
Now the company has a second client in Chile, and hopes to enter new foreign markets via the internet. "People find us through our website," he says. In Brazil, Jomar sells to textile mills and haberdasheries; overseas, the company sells to distributors.
The buttons Jomar exports are used in the manufacturing of tapestries, but the company also makes buttons for caps and clothing. The company makes approximately 500,000 aluminium and plastic buttons each month. Usually, says the businessman, exports are made in 100-unit packages, at a cost of 3.70 reals each (roughly US$ 1.80).
The company’s revenues vary depending on orders, because sales are made based on what is in stock. According to Santos, Jomar posts average revenues of 50,000 reals (US$ 24,700) per month.
Contact
ELP Comércio Exterior
Tel.: +55 11 5034-7866
Email: elp@elp.com.br
Website: www.jomarbotoes.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
