São Paulo – Cushions reminiscent of old radios, lighting fixtures shaped after Atari videogame characters and doormats with cassette tapes drawn on them are some of the items available at online shop Meninos Store. Founded in 2008 by the designers Diogo Magalhães and Bruno Warchavsky, the store sells its products to 32 countries, and 70% of its sales go to foreign countries.
Although it is based in Brazil, Meninos Store has been the most successful overseas ever since its inception. Presently, the United States and European countries such as Germany, France, Spain and England, account for the bulk of foreign sales, says Magalhães. “One of the reasons for that is the sales interface, which is the internet. Overseas, this is already an established market, “consumers are not suspicious of online shopping,” claims the businessman. With items inspired mainly by the virtual world and the vintage style, the store has Portuguese and English versions.
The two partners are in charge of the art direction and creation of the items. Production is outsourced. They also count on a team of four people who help carry out the projects for the new products. The site offers at least 24 categories of items, including hangers, key hangers, safes, copybooks, wall clocks, mouse pads, kitchen utensils, T-shirts, decoration objects, among others. According to Magalhães, each product has a different supplier, at a total of 20, located mainly in the Southeast and South of the country.
Speaking of production, it is also becoming internationalized. “We are beginning to manufacture in China,” reveals the designer. The reason? Cost and ease of product distribution. “In Brazil, anything you make using injected plastic is much more expensive,” explains Magalhães regarding one of the main materials used in his items. The Asian country is going to host an office of the company’s, which should focus on distribution and production monitoring. There are also plans to open an office in the United States.
Because of its good retail sales, Meninos Store attracted the attention of other stores, both physical and online, and now it operates in wholesale. “Wholesale sales began this year. We have attended gift fairs in Brazil and the acceptance was above expected. We want to invest further in this market,” says Magalhães. At present, wholesale sales, to stores in Brazil and abroad, account for 30% of Meninos’ revenues.
Meninos Store
www.meninos.us/br/ (Portuguese)
www.meninos.us (English)
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
