São Paulo – Rio Grande do Sul state-based high-end furniture maker Saccaro wants more out of trade with the Arab world. The enterprise has an outlet at a gallery in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, and plans on increasing sales there by 20% this year. It also intends to break into at least one new Middle East country, according to export manager Gustavo Scola.
A little over two years ago, the brand started selling its items at Marina Mall’s Eldiar Gallery, and ships one container’s worth of furniture every two months. In 2015, sales via Eldiar are poised to grow, and Saccaro is working on finding a point of sale in Qatar. “Theirs is a market that has everything to do with Saccaro, a growing market,” says Scola.
Saccaro makes indoor furniture, such as for living and dining rooms, and for outdoor settings, including poolside items, dining rooms and sofas. It doesn’t make modular furniture, such as for kitchens, but does produce furnishing for companies, like restaurants and hotels. The product design is contemporary. The top-selling items is dining rooms, both to the UAE and in general, says the export manager.
Scola claims Arabs have always enjoyed classical furniture, but this is changing, in the region and around the world, and buyers, especially the younger ones, are favoring more modern and contemporary styles – exactly the type Saccaro makes. Scola believes being at the Eldiar Gallery will provide a showroom for it to work its way into other Arab countries.
Saccaro has existed for 68 years and began turning to the foreign market in 2003, by establishing a dedicated department. In 2004, for the first time, the company attended Index, a textiles, furniture and interior design fair in Dubai, the UAE. At the time, Saccaro sensed the region’s potential, but decided to focus primarily on the Americas.
Then the company returned to Index in 2010, and found its current client in 2012. Saccaro keeps attending Index, and will again this year, once again under the Brazilian Furniture international promotion project. According to Scola, fairs have proved very important when it comes to finding new clients.
International Saccaro
At this time, Saccaro ships 20% to 22% of its output abroad, but the goal is to reach 30% in five years, according to the export manager. Scola claims the brand is sold in 15 different countries. The leading markets are United States, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia. THe company is represented in 27 galleries and has five exclusive franchise stores in the United States, Mexico and Bolivia.
Saccaro’s manufacturing complex is located in Caxias do Sul, on Serra Gaúcha (the Rio Grande do Sul mountain range), a region renowned for the quality of its furniture. The brand makes 4,500 to 5,000 pieces of furniture per month. The company was founded by Albino Saccaro and is currently run by the second generation of the family.
Saccaro
Telephone: +55 (54) 4009 3600
Website: www.saccaro.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
