Portugal steps up export efforts
Foreign buyers flock to show; U.S. presence light
By Gary James -- Furniture Today, April 10, 2006
Porto, Portugal — Faced with a domestic market stuck in the doldrums, Portuguese furniture makers are stepping up their export efforts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.
The 18th annual ExportHome show, held this month in the charming seaside city of Porto, attracted double the number of foreign buyers as last year — 2,203. That included buyers from traditionally strong export targets such as Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as emerging export markets such as Russia, the Czech Republic, Senegal, Korea and the United States.
Total attendance was 42,283.
"I was positively surprised by the diversity of the products available," said Mario Amaral, general manager of Sweetspie Design in the United Kingdom, about the range he saw at ExportHome.
This year's show featured nearly 400 exhibitors covering 173,000 square feet. The event included a special design forum on the topic of innovation, an exhibition of design prototypes and a design competition.
In the competition, four awards were presented: the Jury award went to AMC (Antonino da Maia Costa Lda) for its Openseat, a multi-position chaise; the Journalists award was won by ZS — Industria de Mobiliario for the Rubik multi-purpose cupboard; and the Trade Visitors award was given to Mobiliario Jomasil for a new bookcase. The jury also gave a special mention to A. Brito for its cabinet bar.
As is typically the case, producers explored two main style themes in their introductions at ExportHome, classic and contemporary. Much of the contemporary product is designed for consumers in Portugal, Spain and other European markets, while many of the classic lines are aimed at Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Fresh colors
Amos Lifestyle, known mostly for its classic line, made a major push into contemporary this market with the Prazaa collection. This collection, which includes bedroom, tables and entertainment systems, is a simple, straight-lined design in lacquer and glass. One of the entertainment systems, in a striking green tone, drew a very positive response here, said Filipa Coimbra, an executive in the commercial department.
"But we think black-and-white combinations are where the market is headed in the future," Coimbra said. The company exports 80% of its product to Spain, she added, and also does business in Russia and Greece.
At Ducampus Internacional, introductions included an expansion of a contemporary dining room/living room line combining oak with leather accents. The company also added a versatile wall system with interchangeable shelving and storage units.
Right now, exports are driving the company's growth, said Adriano Campos, sales manager. "Our business has been growing, but it's because we're doing more and more outside of Portugal," he said. "If we had to rely on our domestic market, business wouldn't be so good."
France accounts for 80% of Ducampus' exports, according to Campos. The company also sells to Germany, Italy, England, the United Kingdom, Russia and Tunisia.
"We've had some U.S. interest and contacts," he said, "but haven't done any business there yet." He added the company began shipping product to a retailer in Mexico City this year as a result of its Paris showing in January.
"The key to our success is having fresh contemporary designs and quality construction," Campos said. "We have to stay one step ahead of the crowd."
At Atrium, a high-end producer of distinctively styled classic furniture, this market's introductions included an Art Deco-flavored dining group in ebony and rosewood.
"The domestic economy here continues to struggle," said Francisco Sousa, a sales executive, "so we are concentrating more of our efforts on exports."
Exports currently generate 60% of sales, he said, "and next year they could be as high as 70% to 80%."
In addition to Spain, Atrium exports furniture to Greece, England, Belgium, Russia, Canada and the United States. Its line includes 18th- and 19th-century English and Biedermeier designs, all done with an updated, contemporary twist.
Belar Gropo came to market with new products in each of its three lines — Belar (classic), Invogue (contemporary) and Dekora (import). The company is seeing good growth across all its lines in Spain, said CEO Rui Santos, and it also is expanding its reach in a number of other markets, including India and Korea. Belar also sells to two U.S. retailers.
"We have been making new investments in our facilities, improving our design and technology, so we need to keep growing," said Santos. "The weakness of the U.S. dollar against the euro has been a challenge in some of our export markets, so we keep pushing into new areas."
For example, he said, Belar plans to show for the first time in Belarus in 2007.
China connections
To keep a sharp competitive edge, Belar also has invested in a Chinese facility, where it sources leather and other promotional products.
Another Portuguese company active in the Far East is Moveme, which operates a sister company called Intereme that imports furniture and home accents from China, Singapore and Malaysia.
"We expect to be showing our Intereme line in Shanghai in two years," said Joao Monteiro, commercial director. "We want to be in a position to sell the whole world in the future, and that's going to be the place to do it."
Moveme/Intereme exports furniture to Ireland, Greece, France and Spain. It also does business with Scan Design in the United States.
At this market, the domestically sourced Moveme line introduced two lines: Gama, a contemporary collection in cherry or wenge with metal details, and the Idea program of value-priced furnishings. Designed to help its retailers compete with stores such as Ikea, the Idea program included Moveme's first youth collection.
Moveme also expanded its entertainment line to include setups for plasma and LCD televisions.
While domestic business is just "holding steady," Moveme is planning to expand its 85,000-square-foot production facility by another 30,000 square feet this year.
"We can't sit still," said Monteiro, "We're positioning ourselves to push into new markets, such as Dubai, which is a new show for us."
The ability of Portuguese manufacturers to expand their export business has been a strength during this difficult time in the domestic market, said Nuno Baptista, an export/marketing official with the Apima furniture trade association.
"The domestic market has been stagnant for the last three to four years," he said. "But exports are doing extremely well."
Total furniture exports from Portugal in 2005 are estimated at 850 million euros, an 11% increase from 2004. The top market is France (up 41.3% in 2004), followed by Spain, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom.
One market identified as a hot spot for the future, Baptista said, is Russia: "We're already seeing good results, and exports there should grow substantially in the next five years."
In addition, Portuguese producers are finding business in other new areas, such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait and Angola.
Shipments to the United States also are growing, up 50% from 2003 to 2004, but the base there is still very small, accounting for less than a 1% share of total Portuguese furniture exports.
"We had a trade mission to the United States in October 2003, and we hope to organize another one in the next several years," said Baptista. "It's a very important market, and our producers need to be there."
He added that Portuguese producers offer a "very strong quality-price relationship, and our designs are very creative and well-made. And most of our producers are small to medium-sized companies, so they're very flexible when it comes to responding to changing consumer needs."
