São Paulo – Lingerie by the Bahia state-based textile company Flores de Lírio is being sold across the ocean, in the archipelago of Cape Verde, in Africa. The company started exporting this year, as a result of its participation in an international matchmaking round held in 2012. Two orders have been shipped and the African buyer is about to place a third one.
“We attended the International Business Meeting of the Brazilian Northeast (Einee), in 2012, held by the Sebrae (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service), where we came into contact with buyers from Cape Verde and Angola,” says Cladis de Brito, the company’s administrative manager. The company’s made its first shipments to the African islands in January and April, amounting to US$ 15,000 worth of items.
“We work with highly detailed, near-handmade lingerie,” the executive says regarding its unique items. “We used mostly printed microfiber, and some of the items include lace, taffeta,” she says. These elaborate items were what attracted the attention of the Cape Verdean buyer. According to Brito, the importing company operates as a reseller in the African country.
The company makes 3,000 to 4,000 of the more sophisticate items each month, including panties and brassieres. “Here in Bahia there are no manufacturers making more romantic underwear like ours. Our items boast great quality,” says the manager.
“We are now starting to make a more basic line, whose output should be around 12,000 items per month,” says Brito. The next batch shipped to Africa should be of this basic line. Price-wise, the simpler items sell for around R$ 18 (US$ 8), whereas the more sophisticate sets range from R$ 37 to R$ 45 (US$ 16 to US$ 20).
The company was only able to sell to Cape Verde because the Portuguese language is also spoken in the African country. But Flores de Lírio is already preparing to expand its foreign operations. “We need to adapt the company in order to export. That is why we are taking art in Sebrae’s internationalization project,” she says. The company is implementing various changes, including the reformulation of its website. Presently, the site is down. When it goes online again, it will feature an English version.
Founded in 2009, Flores de Lírio is headquartered in the city of Luis Eduardo Magalhães, in Bahia, and has 15 employees.
Contact
Flores de Lírio
Blog: http://floresdelirio.blogspot.com.br
Telephone: + 55 77 3628-5155
Email: floresdelirio@hotmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
