Geovana Pagel*
São Paulo – Furniture export consortium Brasília Export, from Brazilian capital Brasília, is after a local distributor to help the group return to sales to the Arab countries. This will be one of the objectives behind group participation in Index, a fair in the furniture sector to take place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, between November 28 and December 02.
"We have been participating in Index since 2000. It is an event that stands out as it makes sales possible, not only contacts," stated José Luiz Diaz Fernandez, the president of the consortium and of the Union of Wood and Furniture Industries of Brasília (Sindimam).
According to Fernandez, Brasília Export, established in 2000, initially invested in markets where Brazilian furniture is already well accepted, like the Arab. According to him, the group had an exclusive showroom in Dubai for three years. "As the contract ended in 2004, we had a lull in exports to Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Kuwait, which we want to return to with a local distributor," he explained.
According to the businessman, the Emirates import mostly sets of bedroom furniture, dressers, sitting and dining room furniture, tables and cupboards. "We even have a line of sitting room and bedroom furniture in dark wood that is in a warehouse in the Emirates and will be taken to Index," stated the organization president.
The businessman from Brasília has concrete reasons to believe in the return of sales to the region. Last year Brazilian furniture exports to the Arab countries generated US$ 5.6 million, an increase of 600% in relation to the US$ 800,000 exported in 2003. Brazilian company participation in Index is promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
Union
Fernandez recalled that the idea of establishing an export consortium arose in 1999. A study by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), National Service of Industrial Education (Senai) and Euvaldo Lodi Institute (IEL) in 1998 showed that there was demand on the foreign market for furniture from Brasília.
After this confirmation, the Sebrae and Senai participated in the training of businessmen who had difficulties in the productive process. In 2000, Brasília Export was born, the fruit of a project that included the participation of the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex).
The experience of creation of associations to export, in the case of furniture from Brasília, was expanded to company relations on the domestic market. Fernandez explained that nowadays furniture industries from Brasília no longer see each other as competitors, but as partners. "We have noticed that we have greater chances of being successful if we operate together, mainly due to high costs," stated Fernandez.
Brasília Export includes six companies and is also starting to open the North American market. In April this year, the consortium made one more step in the direction of opening new markets. They put some furniture on sale at a showroom established in the city of Atlanta, in the United States.
In an area of 350 square metres and with another nine companies from the states of Goiás, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais, the representatives from the companies from Brasília are exhibiting products turned to consumers in the upper and upper middle classes.
Contact
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*Translated by Mark Ament
