São Paulo – Nabil Nazouz, the general manager at Tatou, an Algerian brand of female clothes, is one of the Arabs visiting the 39th edition of the Couromoda, a fair in the shoe, sports product and leather accessory sector that began on Monday (16), in São Paulo.
Of the 20,000 pairs that Nazouz imports from Brazil each year, an average of 80% are for women. He has been buying from the country for six years and said that Brazilian shoes are gaining space over the competition due to design and quality, but that they cost more than the Chinese, Turkish and Indian products.
“Brazilian shoes are more attractive and Brazilian businessmen are more honest than the Chinese. I have already had problems ordering pairs in China and not receiving exactly what I bought,” he said. He pointed out, though, that the appreciated Brazilian real (R$) against the US dollar makes the Brazilian product more expensive and restricted to a specific public in Algeria. “If the one dollar was worth R$ 2.30, I could replace all the Indian products for Brazilian ones,” said Nazouz.
Saudis and Dubai buyers who are already clients of Brazilian producers should also visit the fair in coming days. One of the companies that plans to receive these businessmen is Beira Rio. The company export manager, Fabiano Pizzato, does not reveal how much he exports to the Arabs, but says that the region has potential for growth within the 5% of production that the organisation ships abroad.
According to Fabiano, the Brazil brand helps sell to the Arabs, as do the characteristics of the products themselves. “The climate in that region is hot, and is similar to Brazil in this aspect, which helps us. Retailers also need to offer their clients products that are different from the local ones and the origin of the shoes ends up acting as a factor for attraction. The image Brazil has there, of a friendly people, is also reflected in trade,” he said.
One company that aims to increase sales to the Arabs in 2012 is ViaUno. The company’s export manager, Rodrigo Matos, stated that popular protests and conflicts that took place in the region in 2011 did not reduce sales, but stunted their growth. “We did not stop selling to the region, but the region also suffered with a crisis that also reached consumers,” he said.
The company now hopes to grow in the region and may have new partners in the near future. Exports answer to 35% of ViaUno revenues, with 10% being turned to the Middle East.
Sales of shoes to the Arab market have been growing and may grow in volume in coming years, not just for ViaUno, but for all exporters.
The president at the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados), Milton Cardoso, stated that five years ago Brazilian companies “exported to no more than 80 countries” and that they currently export to 160. “We have promoted delegations to that region and see the Middle East as a market to which exports have been growing,” he added.
In a press conference, Cardoso also said that the triangular trade promoted by China harms domestic industry. “Countries that had no tradition of exporting shoes are now shipping products to Brazil.” These countries, according to Cardoso, are used by China to export to Brazil a volume that is greater than the quota allowed.
Service
Couromoda takes place from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, up to January 18th, and from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on the 19th, at the Anhembi Exhibition Pavilion, on Avenida Olavo Fontoura, 1,209, Santana, São Paulo. Further information may be obtained on site www.couromoda.com or by phone, at (+55 11) 3897-6100.
*Translated by Mark Ament
