São Paulo – Calçados Q-Sonho, a maker of female shoes, aims to double sales to the Arab countries. The company has clients in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Together, sales to these countries total 2% of all industry exports, but the company sees potential to increase this percentage in the short term.
"Next year, we should reach 5%,” said Fabio Spohr, the company director. "We hope to sell more to these clients and already have good expectations for the second half, with a summer collection,” he said. All Q-Sonho shoes are made out of leather and sold under brand Stéphanie Classic. Currently, company production is 2,000 pairs of shoes a day, but, according to the executive, there are chances to reach up to 3,000 pairs a day.
Spohr explains that, in the past, the company had already sold to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and that the business with the region was returned in 2011, with new clients gained at a shoe sector fair in Milan, Italy. "We sell to the Shoe Mart, in Dubai, which has garment and shoe shops in several Arab countries,” he said. Apart from Shoe Mart, Q-Sonho also sells to on-line sales site Namshi, in the Emirates, and to Aujan Fashion, in Bahrain, which also has shops in Saudi Arabia.
The director recalls that the company has already participated in a shoe sector fair in Sharjah, in the Emirates, but does not see these events as the best strategy for growth in the region. "Our idea is to strengthen partnerships with clients and to win new markets through these partnerships with distributors and retailers,” he said.
According to the executive, the shoes exported cost between US$ 25 and US$ 50. In the company’s production line there are slippers, boots, classic shoes, sandals and peep toes. Spohr says that the Arabs buy a great variety of models when they place their orders. "They buy high-heeled shoes, more daring, and also slippers and pumps.” Regarding colours, he says that "they have been ignoring basic colours, like black and coffee, and have been buying green, yellow and also pink shoes.”
Q-Sonho dedicates 40% of production to exports. The main market is Russia, followed by France, Japan and Taiwan. Recently, the company also started exporting to China. In all, the shoes are sold to 47 countries.
Established in 1969, Q-Sonho is headquartered in the city of Três Coroas, in Rio Grande do Sul, and has 230 direct employees and annual revenues of around R$ 20 million (US$ 9.9 million).
Contact
Q-Sonho
Tel.: (+55 51) 3546-1200
E-mail: fabio@q-sonho.com.br
Site: www.stephanie-classic.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
