{"id":287588,"date":"2021-01-27T18:22:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T21:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=287588"},"modified":"2021-01-27T18:22:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T21:22:39","slug":"egyptian-crystals-pick-up-market-share-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/egyptian-crystals-pick-up-market-share-in-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian crystals pick up market share in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The Egyptian crystal brand Asfour is expanding in Brazil by adding new products and distribution outlets. Businessman Mohammed Darwich, an Egyptian who lives in S\u00e3o Paulo, has been importing Asfour products for five years now. He is the one spearheading the brand\u2019s growth efforts in Brazil.<\/p>\n

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Darwich: gifts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Darwich sells mostly Asfour crystal chandeliers and parts thereof. Last year saw him open the second Crystal Star shop, in S\u00e3o Paulo. He also started selling customized corporate gifts made from Asfour crystals. Enterprises can order made-to-order objects featuring logos or recipients\u2019 names to give away to their clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go to any crystals manufacturer and say \u2018Look, I want a customized product with a name and a logo on it,\u201d either they won\u2019t make it, or the price will be sky-high. Asfour has the know-how to make very affordable, cost-effective custom gifts,\u201d said Darwich. The items are made in Egypt.<\/p>\n

Darwich partnered up with Asfour in 2016<\/a>. He also has business interests in the tourism industry, and he was appointed as Asfour\u2019s Latin America distributor. \u201cI am passionate about crystals. I used to buy lots of pieces as presents to people,\u201d he says. In speaking with retailers, however, Darwich realized many didn\u2019t believe in the potential of products that nonetheless were in demand from end buyers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the idea came up to open Crystal Star stores to sell Asfour items direct to shoppers. The first store opened in 2018, on S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Indian\u00f3polis Ave., and the second one in 2020, on Nossa Senhora do Sabar\u00e1 Ave., in the same city. The stores are high-end, ample and luxurious. \u201cWhen you show the product to end buyers, they buy it,\u201d says Darwich regarding product acceptance.<\/p>\n

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Two stores in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He explains that the chandeliers are made entirely in Egypt. Many are bathed in gold or nickel, and all are high-end. \u201cWe guarantee our clients that this is true crystal. It doesn\u2019t go yellow, it doesn\u2019t go dark, it retains its shimmer forever,\u201d he claims. According to him, the chandeliers are the best on the market, and on par with famed boutique crystal brands like Swarovski. \u201cOnly they are more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides selling chandeliers, chandelier parts and corporate gifts, Darwich builds and assembles chandeliers with Egyptian crystals on demand for manufacturers and retailers in Brazil. \u201cThis is to give clients in Latin America a shot at customizing their product,\u201d he argues, adding that he works fast and sells at a good cost-to-benefit ratio.<\/p>\n

The Crystal Star stores recently started selling high-end non-crystal chandeliers made by Egypt\u2019s Tiara brand, which Asfour has purchased. \u201cIt\u2019s a contemporary line that\u2019s really in high demand, particularly among architects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement<\/a> gave Darwich\u2019s business a big boost. \u201cWe are paying less taxes, so we became more competitive in relation to the Chinese.\u201d The agreement became effective a little over three years ago, lowering or lifting import charges on the sale of multiple goods from Egypt to Brazil and the other way around.<\/p>\n

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Egyptian shimmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In spite of how much his business has grown, Darwich has further plans for Asfour in Brazil. He plans on importing a crystal jewelry line this year. The idea came when fine jewelry stores started reaching out to him to shop for crystals. Darwich requested product adaptations to match Brazilian tastes, and he expects to start selling in 2021, including out of the Crystal Star shops.<\/p>\n

Plans for this year also include having a chandelier design contest for Brazilian architects, and presenting the winner with a trip to Egypt and a tour of Asfour manufacturing facilities. He should also bring a group of his architect business partners along on the trip.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian looks happy working with crystals, a product he loves. Before he went into business, he says, Asfour crystals were sold by Chinese vendors in Brazil, but all they had to offer the market was pricing. Since he used to live in Egypt and currently lives in Brazil, Darwich is able to show exactly what the brand\u2019s crystals are about, and to convey information about Brazilian market particularities to the Egyptian company.<\/p>\n

But his ultimate goal is to make Asfour the biggest player on the market in Brazil. He has also made sales to Argentina and Chile, and has expansion plans for Asfour across the region. In Brazil, in addition to the Crystal Star shops in S\u00e3o Paulo, he supplies multi-brand retailers.<\/p>\n

Quick facts<\/strong>
\nCrystal Star
\nWebsite<\/a>
\nWhatsApp: +55 (11) 98365 9687<\/p>\n

Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/strong><\/p>\n

Press Release<\/div>\n
Press Release<\/div>\n
Press Release<\/div>\n
Press Release<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The businessman Mohammed Darwich sells crystal chandeliers by the Egyptian brand Asfour in Brazil. He branched out last year by opening a new store and selling customized corporate gifts made of crystal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1455,"featured_media":287567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[9803,18835,18834,18831,18832,18833,18836],"class_list":{"0":"post-287588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-egypt-en","9":"tag-asfour-en","10":"tag-chandelier","11":"tag-cristais","12":"tag-cristais-egipicios","13":"tag-crystal","14":"tag-mohammed-darwich-en"},"wps_subtitle":"The businessman Mohammed Darwich sells crystal chandeliers by the Egyptian brand Asfour in Brazil. He branched out last year by opening a new store and selling customized corporate gifts made of crystal.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}