São Paulo – Brazilian furniture and decoration objects were greatly praised by representative Hisham Ibrahim Ghroab, of the Egyptian Style Design, who participated in the Brazilian High-End Furniture Manufacturers Association Fair (Abimad), promoted up to yesterday (2) in São Paulo. "He greatly appreciated our furniture and has already started considering an order," said André Saad, a representative at Essenza Design.
With a showroom in Cairo, Ghroab supplies mainly architects and interior designers responsible for the great luxury projects. According to Saad, the importer said that he was seeking good quality furniture, similar to the European product, but with different design. At Essenza Design, he got a price estimate for the line of centre tables and buffet side tables. "He praised our furniture," said Saad, who was very pleased.
Another company from which the Egyptian got a price estimate was Formanova, from Santa Catarina. At the stand, he also liked the centre tables and racks. The Cristais Di Murano decoration objects were also successful with the Egyptian buyer. According to the commercial manager at the company, Marcos Cavalli, Ghoroab was impressed with the crystals. "He spent some time here learning about the articles," said Cavalli, recalling that the items are made artistically and that is why they are unique and have exclusive colours and design.
Ghroab was among a group of 21 international buyers invited by Abimad to participate in the fair. Before the fair was opened to the public, there was a business meeting between importers and 39 Brazilian companies that are makers of furniture. According to the Market Development analyst at Abimad, Bruno Silveira, US$ 440,000 in "pro-forma" orders, which are pre-orders, was placed. "The meetings were very positive," he said.
According to him, the expectation is for these export orders to rise throughout the year. "The foreign market is recovering and expectations are great," he added. According to the international representative of Lorca Furniture, Leandro Lorca, who is responsible for four Brazilian producers, the international buyers who come to the fair are really people interested in Brazilian products. "Despite the contraction on the international market, the fair managed to bring buyers with great potential," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
