São Paulo – For some time now, we have left the basic. And gained greater colours, textures, models fabrics, styles and business. Great business. With revenues of US$ 52 billion in 2010, the textile and garment sectors in the country grew to 30,000 companies, exporting to over 140 countries and generating 1.7 million direct jobs. What many do not notice, however, is that these figures are due to a powerful lever called fashion.
It is fashion that makes people buy more clothes, making the São Paulo Fashion Week, the most important in the parades in the country, in rounds that take Brazilian garments abroad. To have an idea of the dimension of this market, a study by IBOPE Intelligence, an organisation under the IBOPE group umbrella, showed that, in 2011, fashion retail should have a turnover of 136 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 87 billion) all over the country.
The figures disclosed by the institute include sales of garments, shoes and accessories. According to the study, only women’s, men’s and children’s clothes should generate deals of approximately 95 billion reals (US$ 60.6 billion) this year, which means consumption of 492 reals (US$ 314) per person. The shoe sector, in turn, should have a turnover of 40.6 billion reals (US$ 25.9 billion) in 2011, with per capita consumption of 210 reals (US$ 134). When adding both categories, individual expenses total 702 reals (US$ 448).
"Brazilians like fashion,” said the superintending director of the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit), Fernando Pimentel. "The national textile industry would be much smaller if clothes only served as protection against nature,” he explained.
According to Pimentel, it is fashion that grants us more research, more technology for production, more fabric and more material. That is, it is mainly responsible for sector renovation and growth. That is not to mention the impact on retail and distribution. “All you need is the great shops to invite famous stylists to sign their collections,” he said. “Consumers are more and more aware.”
Today, Brazil has the fifth largest textile industry in the world, after China, India, Pakistan and the United States. To help leverage business even further, the Abit has been granting support to 40 events a year abroad and to another 40 in Brazil.
The world as a window
The Brazil Fashion Salon is one of the events promoted with the association’s support. Its last edition was in the city of São Paulo, between the 19th and 21st of June. Bringing together 320 fabric, accessory, female and male garment, lingerie and beach fashion producers, the fair received retailers from Brazil and abroad, with sales of around 280 million reals (US$ 179 million). Among the foreigners present at the invitation of the Abit were businessmen from Argentina, the United States, Paraguay and Peru.
Apart from these nations, also prominent in the talks at the Salon were the Arab nations, recalled as important buyers of Brazilian fashion. “The Arabs appreciate quality and sustainable production,” explained Rafael Cervone Netto, the executive director of the association’s TexBrasil programme, which was present at the event. "Do not worry so much about the price, they are excellent buyers,” he said.
According to figures disclosed by the Business and Market Department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Brazilian exports of textile products to the Arab countries totalled US$ 26.4 million from January to May this year. Growth of 16.78% over the same period in 2010. The main destinations were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Lebanon and Tunisia.
To the Future
To continue adding people worldwide, national fashion has among its main triumphs the talent of sector professionals. The Fashion Graduate and Post-Graduate Professor at Santa Marcelina College (FASM), in São Paulo, Raquel Valente Fulchiron explained that, when the course was established, the first in its area in the country, back in 1987, there was little concern with professionalization of garment producers. "It was more turned to art,” she recalled. "Today, the focus is on creation, but also on the market,” she explained.
In all, FASM has already trained over one thousand students in the area. Among the most famous names are stylists Alexandre Herchcovitch and Adriana Barra. "Around 80% of our students leave college employed,” said Raquel.
The percentage of entrepreneurs, that is, of youths who decide to start their own business, is around 30% of those registered at the institution. “The remaining ones work in several other areas, including jewellery, shoes, photography and all else related to fashion,” she explained. “They are new talents that help make fashion more professional, taking information to the market,” she said, pleased with the future of the world of threads, needles and parades in Brazil.
Tomorrow, in the second article in the series about Brazilian fashion: How companies in different sectors invest in style. And make a profit.
*Translated by Mark Ament
