São Paulo – When she was still a parliamentary adviser, now-businesswoman Leyane Magalhães decided to pursue a specialization in foreign trade. Way before establishing Marrazzo, a beachwear brand based in Fortaleza, the capital of the state of Ceará, the entrepreneur already had her eyes turned to the world. Inaugurated in January 2006, the company sold its first batch in June of that same year, to Portugal. And the plan is to keep on growing overseas, which includes eventual deals with the Arab market.
"I have always wanted to ship our production to foreign countries," explains Leyane. Aside from Portugal, the brand has sold bikinis to Spain, where the products were sold at department store chain El Corte Inglés, among the country’s most traditional, if not the single most tradition in the segment. "We shipped 1,800 items over to Spain in 2008," says the businesswoman. "I am aware that they were sold at units in Madrid and some cities in Andalusia."
According to the businesswoman, swimsuits by Marrazzo have already reached in Switzerland as well. "A customer visiting Brazil bought several items to take with her," says Leyane. Among the next markets to be worked, trade partners such as the Arab countries are welcome. "I would love to sell to them, any of them," she says.
Another of the Ceará-based brand’s targets is France, where, with support from the local office of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service in the state of Ceará(Sebrae), a partnership will be closed for the French group to sell the brand’s products. "Our new website, by the way, will have a French version," says Leyane. Presently, the company’s site is available in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
The secret for attracting the attention of foreigners to beachwear made in Ceará? "We use elements of local handicraft in our bikinis," explains Leyane. "And we might add adornments such as embroidery, crochet and coconut rings to our items," she says. Another trick is to offer varied, "more or less well-behaved" models with strong colours.
Attention to exports earned the businesswoman the 2006 Exporter of the Year Prize in the "International Placement" category. The prize is an initiative of the Ceará Foreign Trade Commission, a group comprised of public and private companies that aims to foster exports from the state to foreign countries.
Contact
Marrazzo
Tel.: +55 (85) 3219-1514
Site: www.marrazzo.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
