Capezio, a traditional Brazilian maker of ballet shoes, shoes, gym and dance clothes and swimming suits, based in São Paulo, is seeking new markets abroad. Today, 23% of the producer's revenues come from exports and it plans to expand the brand by winning clients in more distant places like.
Little over 30 years ago, when most ballet, jazz and tap-dancing shoes needed to be imported, brothers Luiz and Walter Cavalcanti started researching the products abroad and started producing dance shoes in São Paulo.
"At that time there were no makers of dance products in general, in scale production. There was just simple, low-quality production," explained Giuliana Cavalcanti, the commercial director of Capezio. In the beginning, in 1975, Capezio production was also small.
Currently, the company is prominent as one of the main producers of dance, fitness and swimming articles in Brazil and exports its products to consumers in several parts of the world. Europe, the United States, Japan, South Africa, Australia and practically the whole of the Mercosur import Capezio products.
According to Giuliana, exports began in 1982. The first foreign sale was to famous English brand Freed of London. Contacts abroad began after participation of companies in fairs and visits by importers.
"First of all we visited the main producers in Europe and the United States, to increase knowledge of technologies, market and products. Then we started participating in fairs and visiting clients. We visited clients interested in our products," he explained.
In the domestic market, the company has 32 stores of its own, spread throughout most states, and four industrial units, with 1,000 direct employees who guarantee daily production of 6,500 pairs of shoes and 8,000 garments.
To grant further credibility to the brand, Capezio has already established many partnerships through its history, like one established with Carlinhos de Jesus, singer, choreographer and director of Dance Academy "Casa de Dança Carlinhos de Jesus", in Rio de Janeiro.
Carlinhos has already exported the Brazil name to great international dance events, where he himself won respected space and promoted Brazilian ballroom dancing worldwide.
Service
Capezio
Telephone: (+55 11) 2272.9677
E-mail: balletbrasil@uol.com.br
Site: www.capezio.com.br
Address: Rua Agostinho Gomes, 1537 – São Paulo SP Brazil 04206-000
Anba