Brazilian footwear brand Dumond, which is owned by the Brazil-based Paquetá group, wants to open 30 stores in the Middle East in the next five years. The information was supplied by the export manager of Dumond, João Marcos Taieti Gimenes.
Until the end of this year, five new units will be established in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The brand already has two stores in Egypt, an Arab country located in North Africa, and intends to open another before the end of 2008.
"It is a market of great opportunities that is growing a lot. Dubai and some cities in the region have become a reference worldwide," says Gimenes. According to him, there is strong local demand for footwear of the type manufactured by Dumond, sophisticated and fashion-conscious. Besides the store in Egypt, Dumond has no other plans for establishing points of sale in North Africa but, according to Gimenes, the company is open to opportunities.
Currently, Dumond exports 35% of its production. Of the total shipped abroad, 25% are destined to the Middle East. "The trend is for that share to increase," says Gimenes. In the Middle East, in addition to the countries that will house its stores, the brand also exports to Kuwait. In the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia, however, Dumond works with a single distributor, which will open the stores as franchises.
The brand also has retail outlets in Colombia, the Philippines and Angola. In those establishments, as well as those that Dumond aims to open in the Middle East, only the brands' shoes are sold. Presently, Dumond exports to multi-brand stores, but the goal of the company, according to Gimenes, is to commercialize the products only at exclusive stores within five years.
The Dumond brand owned by the Paquetá group, based in the city of Sapiranga, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The company was founded in 1945 and became an important industrial group in the segment.
Currently, Paquetá owns footwear brands Dumond, Capodarte and Ortopé. The company also manufactures world-famous brands, such as Hugo Boss, and owns stores under the brands Paquetá, Paquetá Esportes, Esposende and Gaston. It is also licensed to sell the Diadora brand, which it distributes in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Apart from that, the group owns businesses in other sectors, such as farms and tanneries.
In addition to the company headquarters in Rio Grande do Sul, the group owns industrial units in nine Brazilian states and also in Argentina. According to information from the company website, the enterprise employs 13,000 people and manufactures 50,000 pairs of shoes per day. The Dumond brand was established in 1997.
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Dumond
Telephone: (+55 51) 3599-8850
Site: www.dumond.com.br
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