São Paulo – A manufacturer of comfort-oriented men’s shoes, Anatomic Gel, a company based in Franca, in the interior of São Paulo, has conquered clients in six Middle Eastern countries: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon. Only 4% of the company’s foreign sales go to the Arab countries, but the intention is to raise that rate.
“The Arabs enjoy comfort,” says José Rosa Jacometi, the company’s owner. “We are adapting the shoe for the region because of the heat. Once we have a product better suited to the region’s weather, we should see significant growth,” he says. According to Jacometi, the company is going to do research in order to adapt the shoes to the Middle Eastern heat.
Anatomic Gel’s shoes are made from leather, with rubber and gel soles. “We operate solely with the comfort line. Currently, Anatomic Gel is the top selling comfort shoe line in Europe,” says Jacometi. The decision to work with comfortable shoes only also drives up product prices. “The added value is much higher. We only use sheep leather uppers, so it costs more than conventional shoes,” the businessman says.
The company makes 1,200 pairs of shoes per day. Out of those, 50% are shipped abroad. Established in 1993, the company began exporting 11 years ago. Two years ago, it started selling to the Arab countries by means of international trade shows such as Micam, in Italy, and GDS, in Germany.
The company sells via a trading company based in London, United Kingdom. It maintains a warehouse in the British capital to supply European and Middle Eastern countries. Anatomic Gel is also investing in sending representatives to the region. “We already have a rep in Qatar,” says Jacometi.
The company has 1,800 clients in Europe and Qatar alone. Its products are shipped to 60 different countries and its main target markets are Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. Anatomic Gel has 130 employees and posts average monthly revenues of 2.3 million reals (US$ 1.25 million).
Contact
Anatomic Gel
Tel.: +55 16 3712-7800
E-mail: anatomicgel@anatomicgel.com.br
Site: www.anatomicgel.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
