There was an especially strong Brazilian presence at the September 2003 outing of Le Cuir à Paris where the country had its own pavilion. With the ‘Brazilian Leather’ brand being given pride of place, the companies were Cor D’Couro Acabamentos, Polar Couros Ltda, Curtume Tropical Ltda, Curtume Berghan Ltda, Nature Touch, BRASPELCO /Cadorna unit, and CICB – Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry.
The businesses say that in addition to making a number of important contacts, they were able to gain an insight into the specific requirments of the European market in terms quality, fashion and delivery requirements. In line with the show’s upmarket credentials, visitors to the pavilion included representatives from Hello, Galeries Lafayete, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Rochas, Guy Laroch, Prada, Nina Ricci, Cirque Du Soleil, Benetfurs s.a, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Loewe Madrid, Eden Lun, Pellegrini, Estelle Yomeda, Leaton Leather & Trading Co.Ltd., Adam Jones, Grès Paris, Furst and Bureau de Style.
Brazilian organisations were also among the 1,520 exhibitors at 96th edition of the international GDS shoe fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, which was also held in September. Abicalçados - Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers, and APEX - Brazilian Export Promotion Agency invested some 26 million Real ($900,000) in the country’s pavilion at the show which provided a showcase for the output of producers from the states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo. It was money well spent as Brazilian companies closed deals worth an estimated $3.9 million with the prospect of another $21 million over the next 12 months.
“Awareneess of the Brazilian companies at the show demonstrates that we are definitely on the right track,” affirmed Juan Quirós, president of Apex, referring to promotion work done outside Brazil.
“We have exhibited not just shoes from Brazil but also our efficiency, reliability and creativity," added Elcio Jacometti, president of Abicaçados, who accompanied the group of Brazilian exhibitors to the German fair. Heitor Klein, managing director of Abicalçados, attributed the success of the Brazilian presence at GDS to the highly proactive stance taken. “We did not go to GDS to sit and wait for visitors or buyers to come along. On the contrary, we went to Düsseldorf backed by a strong infrastructure and well planned and focused marketing actions."
