Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – The Hotel Show, a fair in the hotel sector that ended yesterday (06) in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, should generate US$ 1.8 million in deals for Brazilian exhibitors throughout the next twelve months. The figure is part of a study by companies participating in a fair with the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizers of the Brazilian space. According to the operations coordinator at the organization, Rodrigo Solano, the Brazilian stand received 742 visitors during the three days of the event.
Sarasá, a company that restores and produces works of art, headquartered in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, in the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, should close contracts with the Arabs after the fair in Dubai. According to artist Luis Martin Sarasá, who is the restorer and owner of the company, a deal for the construction of a cupola for a hotel and spa in Morocco is almost closed. Luis should create an abstract design for stained glass windows, out of which the cupola will be made. There is also a good chance that he will design the emblem for the entrance hall of a hotel in Dubai. The material should be that used in stained glass windows, tiling or mosaics.
Luis stated that he made between 20 and 25 promising contacts at The Hotel Show, despite having met between 150 and 200 people at the stand. He believes that of these, three or four may generate business. Sarasá restores works of cultural, artistic and historical heritage, like cathedrals, theatres and monuments. The company also makes sculptures, monuments and panels. Internationally – Sarasá has already sold to around ten countries – the main works made are tile murals. The Hotel Show was the first company fair abroad.
Stones from Brazil
SBC Pierres, which produces quartzite, a kind of decorative stone, closed contracts during the Hotel Show according to the company commercial director, Marina Paiva Mangia, who is in Dubai. Marina does not want, however, to disclose the volumes and destinations yet. The company is from the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and exports around 100 containers of the product per month. Rubinetto, a maker of taps from the city of Caxias do Sul, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, also made promising contacts during The Hotel Show. The company produces high-end taps and mixer taps, for hot and cold water.
"One of the Arabs with whom we talked is building a high-end residential villa in Dubai, to have 29,000 apartments. To supply his project alone, we would have to produce for three years," stated the company trade director, Fernando Laybauer. The Arab businessman was interested in the Rubinetto products. As the company is small, however, it can only supply part of the project. "I felt that there is great interest in our products. The market is promising," stated Laybauer. The company already exports to countries in America, but not yet to the Arab world.
Coffee, chandeliers and mirrors
Trading company DWR was also very satisfied with participation in the fair in Dubai. The company represented Marcelo Fernandes, a maker of products like vases, ashtrays and aluminium chandeliers, and Cia Orgânica, which sells organic coffee. "We made various contracts, left samples, and it was very advantageous," stated the director and owner of DWR, Guadalupe Rengifo. The company works with placement on the foreign market of products made by small and medium companies.
Glasarte, from São Paulo, in the southeast of Brazil, launched a thermoelectric tray that was successful at The Hotel Show. "Everyone liked it", stated the partner and owner of the company, Vânia Facchina. The tray reaches a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius when connected to an electrical supply. The company also produces mirrors and wooden frames for products like pictures and mirrors. "I think that we are going to close deals for trays and frames. The Arabs buy frames from Italy and Spain. They did not know that Brazil made them too," stated Vânia.
Promising visits
According to a study by the Arab Brazilian Chamber, 40% of the people who visited the national space were interested in interior decoration services, 32% in furniture, 13% in decoration objects and the other 15% in other sectors. According to Francine Dal Pozzo, special aide at the Foreign Trade International Relations Coordination at the Science, Technology and Development Secretariat of the state of São Paulo, Francine Dal Pozzo, one of the positive points of the fair was that although the flow of visitors was not very high, the public was quality. That is, they visited the fair showing great interest in doing business.
"It exceeded our expectations. Companies could learn about the market, prospect partners," stated Francine. The Secretariat organized and promoted the Brazilian space at the fair together with the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the São Paulo state branch of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae).
According to Sebreae consultant Gilberto Campião, who participated in the fair, Brazilian products were of better quality than those exhibited at The Hotel Show. He believes that Brazil should continue participating in the fair to make the national space a reference in Dubai. "They must know that the Brazilians will always be at the fair and that the Brazilian space will have news," stated Campião.
*Translated by Mark Ament
