São Paulo – A few years ago, the company Sianinhas used to sell its handmade purses in retail only, out of a small store in Itaperuna, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Since 2011, however, the company began exporting to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The business expanded, and now wholesale sales account for 80% of all deals, and the Middle East country has become the main market, answering to 60% of sales of this type.
The company’s story began to change when fashion analysts from the Federation of Industries of Rio do Janeiro (Firjan) invited the businesswoman Bianca Lôbo to take part in Fashion Rio, the state’s leading fashion fair. There, she met representatives from Dubai’s Praias LLC store.
“They liked the purses and placed a wholesale order,” she says. “We set up our own structure based on their order. At the Fashion Rio, we would get orders for 20, 30, 50 units. After that, the orders got bigger,” the businesswoman explains.
Presently, Sianinhas ships product to Dubai every two months. Each order consists of 100 to 150 purses on average. “All they buy is summer items, they like very colourful models that are reminiscent of Brazilian handicraft,” she says. Lôbo holds a degree in Fashion and designs the models. The textile mill, founded by her mother, employs 14 people.
According to the executive, the materials favoured by Arabs are jeans and crochet, as well as purses made from fabric scraps using a loom, and beach duffel bags, made from the same material as beach chairs.
The sales to Dubai have also paved the way for exports to other markets. “Our product gained credibility,” says Lôbo regarding the deals with the Arabs. Thus, Sianinhas has also begun shipping its purses to New Zealand, and now it has closed the first order to Portugal.
The profit derived from exports also exceeds that of domestic sales. “Our profit from wholesale exports is as high as 80%,” she says. The prices of the items shipped ranges from R$ 14.90 to R$ 54.90 (US$ 6.50 to US$ 24). The textile mill makes 150 to 250 items per week to cater to its wholesale clients.
On the wake of the success of its products in Dubai, the company is already looking to increase its sales to the Middle East. Lôbo has ordered a survey of Arab women’s taste in purses to a friend who lives in the Emirates. “We ascertained that they enjoy stones and luxurious items. Hence, we are developing a line focusing on them,” she says.
Contact
Sianinhas
Tel.: +55 22 3847-2616 and +55 22 3847-2522
Email: sianinhas@hotmail.com and sianinhasatelier@gmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
