The company Malhas Kyly, from the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, specialized in fashion for children and teenagers, wishes to expand their exports to the Arab countries. The clothes of the Kyly brand are already sold to Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Exports to the Saudi market started in 2003 and to Lebanon last year.
“The volume shipped to the Arab market is still very small, but we have positive prospects ahead of us,” said the company’s president, Salézio José Martins.
The executive believes that the fact the Arab countries have high temperatures may increase sales.
“We look for markets where it is hot all year round, because our clothes are light,” he stated. He plans on selling to the other Arab countries as well.
According to Martins, of the Arab countries, Lebanon imports the greatest volume, although its still not more than 1% of the 25% of the total exported by Kyly.
“The Arab countries have potential to import Kyly products, we are looking for the best way to reach the region,” said Martins.
The contact with importers from Lebanon happened in 2004 at the Texfair, international trade fair of the textile industry, in the city of Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina.
“Last year we shipped twice to Lebanon. This year they will not be able to come to Brazil, but we have already sent catalogues of the spring summer collection for them to place their orders,” explains Martins. According to the Kyly president, the strong colours are the most popular in the Arab market.
The company also exports to Spain, United States, France, Israel, countries in the Caribbean, Central America, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia.
Last year, Kyly’s revenues were of US$ 31.1 million. Martins believes the volume exported should remain stable in 2005.
“Our main objective is to start exporting more of our own brand,” states the president. Some countries buy the pieces without brands. The monthly production varies between 700,000 to 800,000 clothes.
The pieces manufactured by Kyly vary from blouses, T-shirts, training outfits, dresses, jackets and trousers. The company’s public is formed mainly by children from zero to eight years old. Last year, however, they developed the line Kyly Next, aimed at teenagers from 12 to 18 years old.
Malhas Kyly is located in the city of Pomerode, in Santa Catarina, and was founded in 1985. In the beginning the production counted only on two looms used to manufacture fabrics in roles to be distributed to small clothes makers in the Blumenau region, where the company was located. In 1987, the company moved to their current headquarters and started producing their own clothes.
Currently, Kyly has 350 seamstresses and the expectation is to increase this number to 500 professionals before the end of the year. In the beginning of 2005, more than US$ 777,400 was invested in new equipment. The company has the capacity of producing more than one million pieces a month.
Malhas Kyly
www.kyly.com.br
ANBA – Brazil-Arab News Agency
www.anba.com.br