Shoes: Portuguese do it better - Sol

long been said that the textile and Portugal have a draft where they are produced ‘good marks’ industry, which are sold at luxury stores worldwide. After pasted stickers with big names, the Portuguese also buy them their weight in gold. What was not a known history of the industry grew silent in recent decades, l sold out preos high average range and has earned a reputation of the prestige, quality and good design.

In late November last year, the Portuguese Association of Manufacturers of Draught, Components, Leather Goods and their Sucedneos (APICCAPS) achieved a historic feat. Prizes won the European Enterprise Promotion 2013 in the category of Enterprise Support internationalization, with the project “Portuguese Shoes – The sexiest industry in Europe ‘. And won against a proposal from the region of Champagne-Ardenne, who says Paulo Goncalves, spokesman APICCAPS, “represents the best of the best.” Last year the prize also came to Portugal to Douro Boys campaign.

“The interesting prize and motivates us, but the results were already showing up,” maintains Paulo Goncalves. Since this association began in 2010 to campaign for international promotion of the draft Portuguese, under the slogan, ‘The sexiest industry in Europe’, “the exports increased by 30% and, even more significantly, the price of the shoes increased by 25%, exceeding the price of French shoes. ” Today the Portuguese shoes are the most expensive seconds of the world, just after the Italians.

And this good, when apparently I need to produce cheap? Srgio Cunha, the Portuguese Nobrand, states that, after all, “the consumer’re sick of it comes from China, cheap but poorly made.” The paradox that the current poor pocket of the Portuguese in comes to buy quality shoes made in Portugal. Prevented from competing with China, we are measuring forces with Italy, the best of the best.

Before the campaign, which included fashion editorials and aces marketing, the perception that international clients were the Portuguese industry was quite different. “We tested the market where pedamos to importers who give a value to a particular pair of shoes, without saying where he was from. And they were given 100 euros, after knowing they came from Portugal logo assign a value of 70 euros, or about 30% less. For us it was inconceivable, “says Paulo Goncalves.

More than an advertising campaign, this was a “promotional strategy of the sector which translates into 150 companies are present in 70 trade shows per year throughout the world.”

Paulo Goncalves believes it was an investment that paid off. This Table Comunitrio Support since 2007, the sector received 55 million euros for internationalization. “But it allowed export in this period more than 12 billion euros in silence.”

campaign that won the award presented Felgueiras – one of the country’s industrial trsplos – as a case study of excellence in the industry sector, with notrios impacts in developing regions the. “Being OPLO newest companies Felgueiras j born facing the export. The region outside the prinicipal motor of export, representing over 40%, and the county with the lowest unemployment rate. “

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this temple, the region east of Guimarães. As large areas of production, the spokesman referred APICCAPS two more nuclei: the Oliveira de Azemis / Feira / So Joo da Madeira and the Benedicta / Alcoba a. On the whole, the industry exports 95% of production to 132 countries on five continents.

yet for securing’re the North American market. But h stores and luxury chains that provide their customers with the best Portuguese shoes. “Noh in Saks [Fifth Avenue] in New York, but at Harrods in London, h,” says Paulo Goncalves .

Novelty, maintains spokesman APICCAPS that in the XXI century the Portuguese estoa the draft trying to reach China, flipping one ironic counterattack. “J’re doing fairs in China and this decisive. We’ve been running for a few years l j h “.

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