São Paulo – Micro and small shoe factories from Rio Grande do Sul increased their business by 45% during the International Shoes, Fashion Accessories, Machines and Components Fair (Francal), which took place last week in the city of São Paulo. The group of 48 companies that occupied the collective stand of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) made contact and closed deals totalling 11.6 million Brazilian reals (US$ 7.4 million) with buyers from Brazil and abroad, among them Arab countries, like Algeria and Saudi Arabia.
According to the state coordinator for the Fashion Industry at the Rio Grande do Sul state chapter of the Sebrae, Paulo César Bruscato, contacts were also made for future sales, as were exports to South Africa, Bolivia, Greece, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Portugal, French Guyana and Japan, among others. The total number of deals made reached 2,646, according to a Sebrae study. Most of the business, however, according to Bruscato, was with clients in the domestic market.
The coordinator stated that the stand, which covered around 1,000 square meters, was sought as a reference for retailers. “They visited the stand to have an idea of market behaviour, both in terms of quality and in terms of value, then to visit the rest of the fair,” said Bruscato. According to him, both domestic and international buyers sought the stand with that purpose in mind, showing how much the shoe sector in Rio Grande do Sul is a reference.
According to Bruscato, the search for quality and investment in fashion and design is part of the market strategy of Vale dos Sinos region, the main shoe hub in Rio Grande do Sul. This was a way found to guarantee clients, including those from abroad, despite the exchange rate between the Brazilian real and the dollar that is unfavourable for exports.
“China, which is our main competitor, no longer only makes low quality shoes. But the expertise of Vale dos Sinos is not yet in China,” said the coordinator. According to him, the industry is therefore not selling to large magazines, but to smaller chains of shops and boutiques. “Which seek higher quality,” he said. The agility of small and micro companies to supply orders and innovate also helps in sales, he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
