São Paulo – From hair comestics to body creams, Brazilian businesswoman Ana Zakhour represents four brands of Brazilian beauty products, which she sells to hair salons and perfume shops in Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Zakhour was born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state, and her grandparents are from Lebanon. She’s been living for 25 years in the homeland of her grandfather. Eight years ago, she decided to open her own business and created AnnaZ, an import and export company.
She represents the Brazilian brands Lissé, of head cosmetics for professional use; Chillie’s Pink, of body creams, lipsticks and nail polish; Santa Clara, of salon equipment, such as pedicure machinery and aluminum caps; and Kit Spa, of manicure gloves.
“The companies send the product directly to me. I have my own storage facility and I take care of distribution myself”, says Zakhour about the dynamics of her business. The businesswoman lives in the city of Ballouneh and for promotion she attends cosmetics fairs throughout the country, in addition to having a staff of six people that help with customer service in Lebanon.
She has a portfolio with 80 clients in three Middle East countries, the majority of them located in Lebanese territory. According to the businesswoman, around 15 of her clients buy the products to resell in other countries in the region.
The flagship of her business is hair products, which represent 70% of her sales. According to Zakhour, Lebanese women prefer their hair straight. “They care a lot about the way they look and Brazilian cosmetics sell a lot. They really trust the Brazilian product, both professionals and the clients. This helps a lot [with the sales]”, she explains.
In salons, the best-selling products are those for hair-straightening and hair botox, which reduces volume and improves hair threads. In perfume shops, the body creams that sell the most are those with different fragrances. “The condensed milk body cream is an innovation. They also like those with passion fruit and grape scents. These are fragrances for which there is no competition in Lebanon”, says Zakhour.
The businesswoman plans to expand her business to other Arab countries and with new Brazilian brands. “I think a lot about Egypt. They told me that the market over there is very good”, she says. In March, she plans to visit Brazil to talk to other companies about a potential representation in the Middle East. “I have been in contact with some companies”, she says.
Her main interest lies in products for salons, but she is open to new items. “My main focus is on hair products, but if there are innovations that don’t exist in Lebanon, I am interested”, says Zakhour. According to the businesswoman, Brazilian companies interested in having a representation in Lebanon can contact her.
Contact
Ana Zakhour
Phone: +961 338-5600
Email: anna.zakhour@hotmail.com
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
