São Paulo – With a production of 12,000 pairs of shoes per day, Calçados Pegada ships 10% of its output to the foreign market. Out of that total, 25% goes to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The latter, by the way, receives 50% of the total shipped to the Middle East.
According to Juliano Fontes, the company’s trader, sales to the Arabs began ten years ago, after the company went to footwear trade show GDS, held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Aside from the Arab countries, Calçados Pegada exports to Europe, South and Central America.
The company has two factories. The headquarters are located in the city of Dois Irmãos, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the second factory is in Ruy Barbosa, in the state of Bahia. Sales to the Arab market are made by means of distributors. There is at least one in each country, except for Saudi Arabia, in which there are three distributors. The products are sold at shopping centres and street stores. “We have got clients who distribute and have their own stores,” says Fontes.
To the trader, the comfort of the brand’s sandals and shoes is what appeals the most to the Arabs. “The sandals, for instance, have orthopaedic insoles, and the Arabs really like them.”
Fontes claims that the world financial crisis led the company’s exports to decline. Thus, he is unable to tell how much trade with the Arabs may increase. When questioned about whether there is a possibility for growth, however, he does not hesitate: “Of course there is.”
Calçados Pegada was founded in 1989. In addition to the dress shoe and sandal lines, the company also makes sport/dress and casual shoes. Calçados Pegada employs 4,000 people, including direct and indirect jobs.
Contact
Calçados Pegada
Target Importadora e Exportadora
Tel: +55 51 3543-1163
E-mail: juliano@targetexport.com.br
Site: www.pegada.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
