Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – The showers produced by shower industry Fame, from the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, are being assembled in Egypt and distributed to Arab countries. Around three years ago, Lotas Comércio Exterior, a company from Egypt that also has a unit in São Paulo, started importing disassembled Fame products and finishing them in the Arab country. Apart from Egypt, they are also sold in Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi and Zambia, leaving the Lotas assembly line in the city of Sixth of October, close to Cairo.
In the region, the showers are traded under the Lotas brand. According to the director of Lotas Brazil, Adel Ashmawi, the company is participating in specialized and multisector fairs in Egypt to promote the product. Lotas has also sent samples of showers to Jordan, Kuwait, Algeria, Morocco, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea. The showers made by Fame are exported from Brazil to over 40 countries on four continents, among them China, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Poland and Canada.
In many regions, as in the Arab world, electric showers are not used much. In the countries of the Middle East, for example, the abundance of natural gas makes the population opt for showers heated with the product. Lotas is trying to show the safety and advantages of the electric shower. According to the marketing executive at Fame, José Armando Coelho Silva, electric showers also economize water when compared to gas showers. "Europe, for example, is eyeing electric showers," said Silva, recalling that lack of water is a global concern.
According to Silva, Fame exports between 20% and 30% of its production of electronic showers, the most sophisticated, and around 10% of the common showers. Fame exports, according to the executive, are growing. In 2006 the company should end the year with an increase of between 30% and 35%. Up to now the growth has already reached 30%. "We managed to reach this increase with the opening of new markets," stated Silva. Next year, this percentage should repeat itself.
Apart from showers, Fame also produces other items, like taps, resistances, pressurisers, electric material like doorbells, plugs, switches and screws, as well as fans. The first fans produced by the company were released last year.
Production is at three industrial plants. Fame also has another two units turned to logistics and support of activities. The five are in the state of São Paulo, four are in the state capital, São Paulo, and one is in the interior, in the city of Mogi das Cruzes. Fame is a traditional Brazilian company. It has been on the market for 66 years. The group started exporting 30 years ago. In Brazil, Fame has its products at 30,000 points of sale in 3,000 cities.
Contact
Fame
Telephone: (+55 11) 6090-5600
Site: www.fame.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
