Alpargatas inks Dubai deal
Brazilian footwear producer São Paulo Alpargatas is planning to treble the volume of footwear it exports to Arab nations by 2009. To help in achieving this goal it has signed a new distribution agreement with Dubai-based company Hamac Trading.
Alpargatas currently exports between 10,000 and 15,000 pairs of footwear – mainly Havaianas sandals – to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon and Libya.
In total, 17 million pairs of Havaianas sandals were exported last year, accounting for just under 10% of overall Havaianas production.
The company has one factory which produces the sandals alone as well as seven others at which sports and outdoor footwear for brands such as Mizuno, Rainha, Topper and Timberland is manufactured.
It employs 14,000 people and is said to be Brazil's biggest sports shoe and accessories vendor.
