São Paulo – Footwear brand Raphaella Booz makes women’s shoes with loads of charm and creativity. It sells some of its most glittering, colourful and sophisticated models to the Arab market.
The company is based in the city of São João Batista, in the state of Santa Catarina, and exports to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, in the Arab world. According to the company itself, it also plans on entering the markets of Saudi Arabia and Morocco.
Last year, 10% of Raphaella Booz’s output at its plant in São João Batista was shipped abroad. This year, the plan is to increase the rate to 15%. Presently, in addition to the Emirates and Kuwait, the company also sells to Greece and Colombia. According to the company, the brand is also entering the South African and Polish markets.
In the Arab world, the company sells to the Shoe Mark chain, of the Lankmark group, in the Emirates, and the Prince Group chain, in Kuwait. The two countries account for 10% of total exports. The gateway into the market of the region was through contacts made during the Francal and Couromoda trade shows for the shoe industry, which are held annually in São Paulo and attended by importers, among them the Arabs.
In spite of the modern models that it makes, Raphaella Booz is an old company. It was established in the 1960s, in the same city in which its unit is located, under the name Indústria e Comércio de Calçados Tânia. It was founded by Ary Booz, with eight employees and an output of 25 pairs a day. Currently, its factory park covers 10,000 square metres and the production is 5,000 pairs a day, according to the company’s website.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
