Footwear industry show Francal is the highlight of your ANBA Bulletin this Wednesday (18). The expo is taking place this week in São Paulo, and Arab importers are in attendance. One of them is the CEO of Saudi retail chain Almoosa, Mohammed Al-Mousa. He told Bruna Garcia that 60% of all shoes sold by the company's 30-plus outlets are made in Brazil. “We’ve been working with Brazilian shoes for over ten years and we really like them, since the collections are always in tune with fashion worldwide. Plus, the shoes are very comfortable and have great price and quality,” the executive said.
Also at the trade show, the export manager for children's shoes brand Kidy, Rodrigo Nunes Esteves, said Arab countries take in 40% of the company's foreign sales. “We’re members of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and that lends us some strength, since when we introduce ourselves as members it carries some relevance and we have been signing good deals in the Middle East in the last three years,” he said.
And Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are hosting long-distance desert races this year. The second edition of 100-km race Ultra Mirage El Djerid is slated for September 29 in Tozeur, Tunisia, and the first-ever Al Marmoom Ultramarathon, spanning an impressive 270 km, is taking place from December 11 to 15 in Dubai.
And another must-read will be up at 7 am on Thursday (19): a special article from Isaura Daniel on the hike in Brazil's imports of petroleum from Iraq.