São Paulo – Villione, a high-end male shoe brand headquartered in the city of Franca, exports to eight Arab countries. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco and Syria answer to 30% of the company’s foreign sales, according to the company’s Foreign Trade manager, Rony Moreira. Villione produces around 800 pairs of shoes a day and ships 30% of produce abroad.
The company produces both shoes under its own brand and for other Brazilian and international brands, in the private label system. In Brazil, the company is responsible, for example, for production of Calvin Klein, Reserva, Forum, Triton and John John shoes, and it also makes shoes for shops like Fascar. Apart from producing, the company also develops collections in partnership with stylists.
Abroad, the company also ships shoes in both areas, under its own brand and for third parties. Even in this case, the brands are international. One of them is Hush Puppies, which is shipped to the Arab world. In the region, explained Moreira, the main clients are Dubai, in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The profile of shoes varies according to the country. To Lebanon, for example, more classical models are shipped. To Dubai, the styles that go are more daring brand ones as well as the classic Villione shoes, and to the Saudis the brand ships Hush Puppies models.
Moreira sees good potential for growth of sales in the Arab world and abroad as a whole. According to him, the company hopes for expansion of 25% to 30% in the second half of the year as against the first, and 30% in 2013 over 2012. He explains that in the first half, the market was contracting, but that in July there was a reaction. Even during the crisis, explained Moreira, the company did not stop investing on foreign sales, which granted it credibility alongside clients and growth when exchange rates improved.
Villione exports to 38 countries and its main markets are in South America, mainly in Colombia, and in Europe, mainly Switzerland, Germany and Italy. “But we export practically everything to Europe,” said Moreira. According to the Foreign Trade manager, exports began in 2002 and sales to the Arabs began some six years ago. To the Middle East and North Africa, the starting kick for international markets came from contacts at fairs in Europe and in Brazil.
One of the company’s strategies to maintain and increase its sales in other countries is participation in fairs. Villione is normally present in fairs in Italy, Germany and Colombia. In Brazil, the company exhibits at Francal, Couromoda and the International Shoe and Leather Salon (SICC), which receives many foreign visitors. Since 2002, after exports began through an agent in England, the company has not stopped investing in the international market. And it plans to do so more and more.
Villione makes higher-end traditional male shoes, but tries to add to them the fashion tendencies and innovation. The international fashion research area at the organisation, according to Moreira, is intense and is led by one of the partners, Adilson Pimenta, who is also the commercial director. Apart from Pimenta, the company’s other partners are Elisângela Pimenta, financial director, and Danilo Granero, purchase director.
Villione was established in 1997 and is a family business. Before establishing the company, however, the directors were already operating in the area, as service providers in the assembly of shoes. The company has two industrial units in Franca, one for shoe production and the other for pre-fabricated souls used in their shoes. The products are all made out of leather.
Contact:
Villione
Site: www.villione.com.br
E-mail: exportação@villione.com.br
Telephone: (+55 16) 2104-3401
*Translated by Mark Ament
