Brazil is known for the strength of its small and medium-sized companies. According to Sebrae data, 95% of companies in Brazil are small businesses. There are 22.6 million SMEs, which total an average of R$ 20.26 million in revenue per year. Theyare also present in the footwear sector: of the 5.3 thousand footwear industries in the country, 92% are micro and small. And many of them were gathered in the three days of BFSHOW, the largest footwear fair in Brazil, held between May 21 and 23, at the Transamerica Expo Center, in São Paulo/SP. The event is a realization of the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) in partnership with the promoter NürnbergMesse Brasil.
At BFSHOW, about 35% of the 318 exhibitors fall into the micro and small business category, and 49% are medium-sized. One of them is Killana.. Founded 28 years ago in Três Coroas (RS), the company produces leather footwear with a business model divided between private label (producing for other brands) and its own brand, which corresponds to 30% of the production of about 700 shoes per day. The medium-sized company bets on the commercialization of its line through partnerships with retailers and, since 2002, has also exported its products to countries such as Russia, the United States, Argentina, Italy and Portugal, among others. And at BFSHOW it has a showcase to reach new markets. private label (produzindo para outras marcas) e marca própria, que corresponde a 30% da produção de cerca de 700 calçados por dia. A empresa de médio porte aposta na comercialização de sua linha por meio da parceria com varejistas e, desde 2002, também exporta seus produtos para países como Rússia, Estados Unidos, Argentina, Itália e Portugal, entre outros. E na BFSHOW tem uma vitrine para atingir novos mercados.
"It is of total importance to participate in BFSHOW because it is the place where we are able to capture and meet with customers, centralizing the search process, research and confirming that they want to work with us. Some countries we only attend to at the fair. We had in this edition, for example, a client from Guatemala who wants to buy our collection and even suggested opening a store of her own partnering with us. These are businesses that can emerge here and that can lead us to other markets in the future,” says Marcos Huff, Killana's administrator. According to him, the summer collection presented at the BFSHOW should have a sales growth of 10% compared to last year.
Rio Grande do Sul Fashion Station
Sebrae of Rio Grande do Sul was also present at the fair, with a space dedicated to 18 micro and small companies in the state, all of them, in some way, affected by the floods. The participation of the companies, organized at the Estação Moda RS space, was confirmed before the climate catastrophe, with the support of the organization of the fair and Sebrae, all could be present at the event.
“With this situation we are facing, being at BFSHOW is crucial for the survival of the business. They do not come to the fair only for relationships, they come to generate orders and guarantee the production for the next two or three months at the plant, a factor of paramount importance for the maintenance of jobs, income and to ensure that the local economy continues to function,” says Aliana Maciel, Project Manager at Sebrae RS.
The Sebrae RS project has, in total, 50 micro and small companies in the state, of which 17 were at the BFSHOW with the support of the association. During the event, the project companies closed deals that exceed R$ 4.4 million. According to Sebrae, the outlook for the next 12 months, based on what was seen at the Fair, is an expectation of more than R$ 9.7 million in revenue. Exhibitors sold more than 55 thousand products to about 500 different buyers.
Helping micro and small entrepreneurs to register increases in their revenue is also the main proposal of Sebrae SP at BFSHOW. A consultant at Sebrae Franca, Jorge Zanetti explains that the entity works in four major areas with entrepreneurs: in company management, access to credit, technologies and markets – the latter is the main reason for participating in the fair.
“It is very important to be at BFSHOW because we are able to give visibility to small businesses, so that they have the opportunity to access markets that they often cannot. And also so that these entrepreneurs can analyze trends and learn more about what is happening in Brazil. We set up a shared space of three of the main footwear centers in São Paulo: Franca, Jaú and Birigui, each with five companies from each city. Our perspective is that these companies will have a revenue increase of at least 10% in the year”, explains Zanetti.
The 3rd edition of BFSHOW is already confirmed! It takes place from November 11 to 13, 2024, in the New Anhembi District, in São Paulo (SP).
About Abicalçados
Abicalçados represents the Brazilian footwear industry, fifth largest in the world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Founded in 1983, Abicalçados is based in Novo Hamburgo, state of Rio Grande do Sul, and its members are companies of all sizes accounting for more than 65 percent of the footwear produced in the country. The entity represents an industry that employs more than 300,000 people. Its mission is to represent, defend, develop, and promote Brazil’s footwear industry with respect, excellency, and results.
About NürnbergMesse Brazil
NürnbergMesse Brasil is a subsidiary of the NürnbergMesse Group, one of the 15 largest fair organizers in the world. The group’s portfolio includes more than 120 international fairs and congresses (14 of them in Brazil) and more than 40 pavilions. Every year, more than 30,000 expositors and more than 1,5 million visitors meet in events hosted by NürnbergMesse, which also has subsidiaries in China, United States, Brazil, Greece, Italy, and India, The group also established a network with sone 50 representatives operating in more than 116 countries.
