São Paulo – Hanox Shoes, a shoe and accessory company in Dubai with outlets in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, UAE plans on buying about 7,000 pairs of shoes during industry show Couromoda, which ends this Thursday (17) in São Paulo. When this ANBA reporter spoke with head buyer of women’s footwear, Radha Kollaikal, she was completing an order for over 1,000 pairs from the Renata Mello brand, comprising especially platform and flat shoes and sandals, as well as oxfords, ballet shoes and moccasins.
According to Kollaikal, 15% of the children’s, women’s and men’s shoes and accessories sold sold at Hanox Shoes are Brazilian-made. “We expect to see that increase to 25% by the end of the year,” said the buyer.
The stores in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah opened in December of last year and span about 560 sqm each. In addition to manufacturing locally in the UAE and carrying product made in Brazil, the company buys from other countries, China and Italy included.
“We find Brazilian product very interesting, the companies are highly professional, so I believe we’ll be able to make great deals here,” said Kollaikal. The head buyer also said the purchases made at Couromoda aren’t one-off deals and will continue throughout the year. “We should be renewing these orders every two months,” she revealed.
Besides Kollaikal, two other buyers for Hanox Shoes were at Couromoda – Joju Abraham, head of business, and Jayakrishnan Mandiram, buyer for kids’ footwear – covering all sectors of the expo. Regarding the event, the buyer said: “Couromoda is very organized, we’re having a great stay and hope to make good deals. We’re buying everything – women’s shoes and sandals, men’s leather shoes and children’s shoes.”
Hanox Shoes is an arm of the Sobha Group, a real estate multinational established by an Indian in Oman, 1976, with investments in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Brunei and India. Kollaikal was also at Couromoda last year, buying inventory even as the stores were pending opening.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
