Marina Sarruf
São Paulo – Group Calçados Azaléia, one of the five largest companies in the shoe sector in the world, is going to open its first store in an Arab country this year. The store will be in Saudi capital Riyadh, and is the seventh company store outside Brazil. It will be run by the Azaléia representative in the Arab country. In all, there are 71 exclusive company stores in Brazil and abroad. Calçados Azaléia has its own commercial units in the United States, Europe, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico.
The company has been exporting its Azaléia and Dijean brands of feminine shoes for adolescents and adults to the Arab world for 10 years. Among the countries that import shoes from the group are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt. According to the company marketing director, Paulo Santana, it is possible that they may also start exporting their new line of pre-adolescent shoes, Funny, which was released yesterday (10), in São Paulo. "Our current target is to reach 15% of the sector in Latin America in the next two years, but we may also start exporting the line to the Arab countries," he said.
According to Santana, the Arab countries have a hot climate and the sandals made by the company are within the specifications by women in the region. The Funny line will be presented to storeowners at Couromoda, the International Shoes, Sportsgoods and Leathergoods Fair, to being today, in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo, the largest industrial and business centre in Brazil. "We expect contacts by Arab representatives during the fair," he said.
For pre-adolescents
The Funny brand targets girls between 7 and 12 years of age. The line includes eight models with up to five colours of boots, tennis shoes and sandals. The numbers in the country range from 29 to 36 (European shoe sizes), with prices ranging from around US$ 14.50 to around US$ 29.30 (at current exchange rates). Initial production of the shoes in the brand will be 15,000 pairs a day and 30% of this total will be turned to the foreign market.
According to Santana, the revenue forecast with the new line is approximately US$ 26 million in 2005. Up to the end of the year, the director believes that the investment in the sector will have totalled US$ 1.9 million. Last year, Azaléia estimates that revenues were US$ 371 million, which means growth of 25% when compared to the year of 2003. In all, investment totalled around 26 million in marketing in 2004 and the company reached annual production of 36 million pairs of shoes.
According to information supplied by Azaléia, the infant sector in Brazil has an annual production of around 180 million pairs of shoes per year, of which 118 million are feminine.
Apart from Funny, Azaléia and Dijean, the company also has sports lines Olympikus and Asics. The Azaléia and Dijean brands answer to around 8.9% of the volume in the domestic feminine shoe market, and 35% of the volume of the premium sector (shoes that cost over US$ 11 in Brazil). They represent 38% of the company revenues.
The Olympikus brand is the leader in the sports shoes sector on the Brazilian market. The line answers to 10.3% of the domestic tennis shoe market and 42% of the volume in the premium sector (costing over US$ 21.50). Olympikus represents 42% of company revenues.
In all, the group exports to over 80 countries. Latin America represents 70% of exports, the United States, 10%, and Europe, 15%. The foreign market answers to 25% of company production.
Social Responsibility
Established in 1958 in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, the company started exporting in 1990. Azaléia has 40 production units in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, and in the northeastern states of Bahia and Sergipe. The company has 2,750 points of sale worldwide. There are over 16,000 employees working for the company.
Azaléia is also well known for its social programs turned to company employees, covering the areas of health, education, habitation, safety, transport and leisure.
