São Paulo – When the Lebanese Nissim Hara stepped into São Paulo, in the 1960s, the money he had was not enough to buy a car. Today, 45 years later, he and his brothers own one of the largest lingerie brands in the country, Hope, producing 650,000 items a month and aiming at reaching one million units a month by the end of the year. "Much work", he said, explaining, in few words, the success of the brand he established.
Nissim is a man of few words and simple habits, despite the lingerie empire he commands. The owner’s characteristics, in fact, may also be identified at the company’s headquarters, in Bom Retiro neighbourhood, in a well kept building with pink seats in the reception, but not much luxury. That is where the company has its creation department and showrooms and even the purchase and sale departments. The Hope factory is in the state of Ceará.
The Lebanese currently counts on the assistance of his three daughters to manage Hope. Karen, his eldest daughter, takes care of finances and administration, Sandra, of production and marketing, and Daniela is in charge of sales. But that does not make Nissim work little. "I work 24 hours a day," he says, forgetting to discount his sleeping time. The immigrant, who naturalised himself Brazilian, does not find the business and industrial routine bad. "I like working," he said.
In the early days of the factory, it was Nissim who took care of almost everything. "I sold, bought and delivered," he explains. At the time, Hope had no more than half a dozen employees. The brand produced just one kind of panty, in helanca, which became successful on the Brazilian market. But how was the creation process of such important items? Initially, it was all in the hands of Nissim. "As I was also responsible for sales, I had an idea of what the market was selling, what the next releases would be," he explained.
Three years later, Nissim’s brothers entered the business and, little by little, the kinds of products made were expanded. With the growth of the company came the hiring of stylists and medallists. Currently, the brand has a chain of franchises, with 55 units, both in Brazil and abroad, and plans to reach 100 by the end of 2011. The franchises abroad are in countries like Portugal, Israel and Japan. And there are also sporadic exports to other regions, including Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador.
But Nissim said he is focussed mainly on the domestic market. Mainly, as he thinks that if the intention is to sell abroad, it has to be with all force, with marketing campaigns, product following and all. To Dubai, he has already made some sales. "But if you go there, you don’t take marketing, you cannot go ahead," he said. However, he believes that if he truly decides to sell in the East, the Europeans will have to take care. "They will not manage to sell at my price."
His reasoning shows a little of his story, as he came into business to win. The businessman’s trajectory was broad until he reached his sector of greatest success. It started still in Beirut, Lebanon, where Nissim was born and started working, at age 12, as an assistant salesman. His father was dead and he had to struggle. "Or else I would have been under my father’s wings," he said. After the first activity, he partnered up with his brothers for the production of playing cards and matches. He also worked importing products from Japan.
But Lebanon was in turmoil and Nissim moved abroad. He went to Europe and the United States and from there to Brazil, to spend two weeks on business, at the request of his uncles. He decided to stay in the country. In Brazil, Nissim first tried out life in Belém, the capital of the state of Pará, in the north of the country, transporting products like vegetables and meats to other states by aircraft. "The results were not very great." That was when he headed to São Paulo and decided to bet on a suggestion by a friend, who told him lingerie was selling very well.
Today, Hope advertises its products using some of the highest earning stars in Brazil and abroad. Actress Juliana Paes has already worn the brand undergarments and the current Hope celebrity endorser is international model Gisele Bündchen, with whom the company has a contract up to next year.
To Lebanon, the businessman usually returns once every two years. But cuisine and the Arabic language are part of his daily life. Nissim says that he still feels Lebanese, despite liking Brazil very much. "I feel very comfortable here. I like the people," he said. It was in Brazil that he got married to Raquel, also of Lebanese descent, and had three daughters. The businessman’s mother, in fact, also moved to Brazil, but she passed away in 1969, in the early days of Hope activities.
Contact
Hope
Telephone: (+55 11) 2169 2266
Site: www.hopelingerie.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
