São Paulo – A user from Beirut liked what she saw, sent an order and currently distributes in Lebanon items from Solaza, a small apparel company that produces sun protective beachwear in Maceió (AL). The story attracts even more attention due to an interesting fact: the user has never seen or visited Solaza’s store because Solaza doesn’t have (yet) an outlet.
All the company’s items are on display at its Instagram profile @solaza_ and on Facebook. Its bodies, T-shirts, swimsuits and bikinis are on display on the social media apps, where those interested find a phone number to contact, preferably via WhatsApp.
“We only sell online, to the whole country,” says Ana Lita Soares, one of Solaza’s three founders. Lebanon is the only market abroad that receives the company’s items, thanks to the buyer that, through the recommendation of a sister that was vacationing in Brazil, found the Instagram profile. “It’s a blogger that also sells clothing via internet. She already buys from other brands in Brazil for quite some time and, near four months ago, ordered with us,” explains the founder.
The contact made by the Lebanese woman caused some changes in Solaza’s structure. The company was created by three people from São Paulo that left the chaos of the city seeking a better life in the more peaceful Alagoas. Ana Lita Soares and the siblings Priscila and Pierri Apaza, the fashion designer, had to search for help to solve the red tape procedures required to send the products abroad.
The Business International Center of the Federation of Industries of Alagoas (FIEA) offered its support to the entrepreneurs, who now are starting to dream bigger. A showroom of Solaza will be opened in October in Maceió and it will hire this year still to expand its production, which now stands at 600 items per month. “Besides the three founders, we only employ one other person,” says Soares.
The Lebanese is the only client of the company to buy wholesale. According to the owner, purchases from Lebanon reach 60 items per month and take around 15 days to get to their final destination via air – and the majority of this time is spent with red tape caused by Brazilian agencies.
Quick info
Solaza
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solaza_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solazaconfeccoes/
Phone: 55 82 99641-8504 / 55 82 99131-6760
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
