São Paulo – It was 1997 when Syrian Nasser Nemer arrived in Brazil from Damascus. He came looking for work and soon was hired as a waiter in a restaurant in São José do Rio Preto, northwest of São Paulo state. Later, he opened his own business: a used car dealership.
During almost twenty years, Nemer, one of the owners of gas station chain Grupo Cinquentão, with more than 35 gas stations throughout Minas Gerais and northeast São Paulo state, had been complaining about something: finding Arab products in São Paulo state.
“There wasn’t any specialized store. I had to look for hummus in a place, buy wheat in another. I wanted it to be easier, all gathered in the same place,” he says.
And that’s when he decided to turned his complaints into a business opportunity. He teamed up with fellow countryman Ali Kazmouz and opened, on May 2015, Mundo Árabe (Arab World), a store specialized in Arab imported products in Ribeirão Preto (319 km from São Paulo). A year later, he took an even bigger step: he took the sales of the products online, opening an e-commerce of imported products from Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, among others, at www.mundoarabe.com.br.
“We now deliver products across Brazil. And those that spend over BRL 250 have free shipping,” explains the entrepreneur, advertising his business.
On the website there are items such as hookahs, party jewelry and handicraft, plus foodstuffs from the Arab world such as hummus, olive oils, spices, sweets and even alcoholic beverages, such as the traditional arak and Lebanese beer.
The partners themselves take care of the purchases: every three months they travel to Syria and Lebanon to fill in containers with Arab products to replenish the store’s stocks. “Everything we put on the website sells. Brazilians buy everything online,” says Nemer.
The Syrian is happy with the venture. “It’s going well, it’s great,” he says, without giving up details on revenues. He only says one thing: “We don’t only to the Arab community. I dare to say that 90% of our clients are Brazilians.”
Quick info
Mundo Árabe (Arab World)
Avenida Independência, 991 – Ribeirão Preto (SP)
Open from Monday to Saturday, from 9 am to 9 pm; Sunday, from 10 am to 4 pm.
Online store: https://www.mundoarabe.com.br/
Phone: (16) 3409-8053
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
