São Paulo – Nine years ago, Pé com Pé, a maker of children’s shoes, started its exports to the Arab market. After some ups and downs, since 2005, the company maintains exports to the region on the rise, and it has won markets like the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar and Lebanon. In the latter, the company inaugurated its first exclusive shop in an Arab country, in June, in Beirut. Next year, expectations are for expansion of 15% in sales to the region.
"Our expectations are tied to the dollar, but the tendency is for the Middle East to exceed South America [in sales]," explained Fábio Chalita, the Export manager for Europe and the Middle East. Currently, the main import markets are Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia. Among the Arabs, the greatest is the Emirates.
Producing 16,000 pairs of shoes a day, Pé com Pé dedicates around 30% of production to foreign sales. Of this total, the Arabs currently answer to 20%. To maintain sales on the rise, the company participates in fairs in the region and also in Europe, where their stand is visited by Arab buyers.
Regarding the shop in Lebanon, Chalita points out that it was opened in partnership with a local distributor. “We already had products in several chains in Lebanon. In one of our visits to the country, we had the idea of opening an exclusive shop,” he said. "The success was instantaneous, also attracting clients (retailers) from other countries in the Middle East, while they visited Lebanon. We are already planning the opening of a new shop in 2013, also in Beirut,” said the executive.
According to the Export manager, the company promotes at least two visits a year to the Arab nations with which it does business. In the second phase, the company also plans to open its own shops in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
When eyeing other countries of the region, Pé com Pé is already negotiating with other nations in North Africa. "We are negotiating with Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria,” reveals Chalita, adding that the company also had business with Libya before the political and social crisis that hit the country.
Pé com Pé makes shoes for boys and girls, from those newly-born to those aged up to 12. According to Chalita, shoes are not modified for export and are very well accepted abroad. “They are colourful and the design is turned to the young. They please both children and their mothers,” he finished off.
Among the products made by the company are sneakers, shoes, flip-flops, sandals and boots. "Our shoes are approved by the Brazilian Paediatrics Society as comfortable shoes for the young,” he pointed out. Currently, the company exports to over 40 countries. Headquartered in the city of Birigui, Pé com Pé has 1,100 employees.
Contact
Pé com Pé
Fábio Chalita
Tel.: +55 11 2399-3096
E-mail: fchalita@hotmail.com
Site: www.pecompe.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
