São Paulo – Children’s footwear manufacturer Kidy wants to expand the presence of its products in Arab countries, where its products have already been sold via distributors for some decades.
The company founded in Birigui, Brazil, in 1990 has expanded its foreign trade staff teams to increase the volume of pairs of shoes shipped per year to Gulf and Africa states, where it sees the largest room for growth.
“We’re already strong in the Americas. Now we have to maintain what we’ve already got and expand there [in Arab countries]. We’ve unlocked markets in Africa and the Middle East, but there’s still room to grow in these regions. Hence this investment in export staff, to tackle these markets more strongly,” said the company’s marketing manager, João Gava, during footwear exhibition BFShow in São Paulo.
Gava told ANBA that Kidy started exporting in the mid-90s. Now 12% of its revenue comes from foreign markets, particularly the United States and the Southern Cone. The company is also present in African and Arab markets, including the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt, and Libya.
Across all countries, the strategy is building alliances with distributors that are strong in local footwear retail and working together with them to build up a client base. According to Gava, this model has allowed Kidy to maintain a perennial presence in foreign markets and develop a continuous relationship between its brands and the consumer.
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“The distributor is an extension of the company abroad,” Gava explains. “A retailer may not want my product in the coming season,” he went on. “In Brazil, we have the capacity to look from storeowner to storeowner. Overseas, we equip this distributor with information and material so that they can build this relationship with the storeowner, who will by more from them, and consequently from us,” he argues.
Arabs are picky consumers
Arab clients, Gava says, are very picky when it comes to the footwear they buy for their children, particularly toddlers. Although it has higher prices compared to its Turkish and Chinese counterparts in these markets, the Brazilian product gains customers due to its higher quality.
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Given the willingness of the Arab consumer to pay more, Kidy has invested in design and especially in technology to add to its products, which are currently manufactured in Três Lagoas, Minas Gerais state, and Birigui, São Paulo state. The lines include, for example, antibacterial technology and polymers that allow the air to come in and out the soles, thus preventing water from entering it.
Believing it has a portfolio compliant to different foreign markets, the company expects that its foreign trade staff teams will help increase the share of exports to some 20-30%.
“It’s the magic number – we had it in the past,” he commented. “Our product is competitive and turns over nicely in the distributors,” he added.
Report by Daniel Medeiros, especially for ANBA
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
