Marina Sarruf
São Paulo – Most of the Brazilian companies participating in the 13th edition of Jewellery Arabia, which started on Tuesday (05) in Bahrain and ends this Saturday (09), intend to return to the event next year, according to information supplied by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce foreign trade analyst, Fadley Fattah, who is participating in the event. For the next edition, the companies intend to develop new strategies to further increase their penetration in the Arab jewellery market.
Manoel Bernardes, from the southestern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, for example, who owns the company he named after himself, noticed that the Arab women are, more and more, following international fashion tendencies.
"What I could notice is that, in terms of fashion, everyone is trying to globalise. I thought that yellow gold was going to be the most sought product at the fair. However, everybody prefers white gold," stated the businessman. According to him, the Arab market is very different from the North American market in cultural aspects and in the way of negotiating.
This was the first time that the company participated in a fair in the Middle East. According to Bernardes, Brazilian exhibitors must present the quality and the design of the jewellery in the first contact, only closing deals at a later time.
In the opinion of the businessman, the differential of Brazilian products is the design, and not the price. "This year we are at the same level as Thailand and Hong Kong, but we want to compete with Italian and German products (very popular on the foreign market), but without losing the Brazilian style. We must take advantage of the style of our products and modify our participation next year," stated Bernardes.
Marketing
Another point raised by the businessman was product marketing. He believes that to increase participation in the Arab market, it is necessary to seek new distribution channels, including local agents and representatives to promote the Brazilian products all year round, not only at the fair.
"Brazil caused a great impression. The Arabs were surprised with the originality and design of the products. Now our forecast is to increase sales to the Middle East and look for new points of sale in the region," he said.
Up to Friday evening (06), Manoel Bernardes had already sold 55 products. "I would have liked to have sold more, but it was already a very good beginning," stated Bernardes. According to him, participation in the fair was a positive experience and, for this reason, he intends to return next year.
