GRAMADO, Brazil — GRAMADO, Brazil– The fifth annual Salão do Móvel Brasil show, whose focus on high-end furniture makes it unusual in Brazil, still doesn't have a strong U.S. buying presence, but a change of venue for next year's edition could help change that.
In March 2005, the event will move to ITM Expo, a 320,000-square-foot trade show facility in Brazil's business capital, São Paulo. Along with an additional 40,000 square feet of space, the change simplifies travel to the show. While Gramado is a scenic, hotel-rich vacation destination for South American travelers, it demands an extra air connection for most visitors, plus an hour-and-a-half drive from the Porto Alegre airport.
"We surveyed our exhibitors and 51% wanted to show in São Paulo," said Telmo de Freitas Gomes, general manager of SDMB. "More of our buyers wanted to go there as well. It should improve international attendance, and there is a lower cost for purchasing space at the show. We have to make these changes since there are so many shows for importers to choose from."
The show, he added, will retain its focus on middle-price to high-end furniture.
Several of this year's 180 exhibitors, including Andrés Tissot, president of full-line manufacturer Sierra Furniture, agreed with the change. Tissot was a driving force behind the establishment of SDMB and the construction of Sierra Park, the show's venue to date.
"It takes buyers from the north of Brazil an entire day's travel to reach Gramado," he said. "At first, people enjoyed the opportunity to visit the region, but the show is now established as a business opportunity. It also will be a lot easier for importers from other countries to come as well."
Valeria Santolim, an owner of Comfort House, a retail store in Florianópolis, likes the change.
She attended a recent small show in São Paulo led by several former SDMB exhibitors — including leather producer Niroflex and case goods and occasional manufacturers Massotti and Stone Design — that had already decided to make the move. While she said the show was lightly attended compared to SDMB, it was a simpler trip.
"As a store owner, I find going to São Paulo much easier," she said. "(The show) was small enough that I could go for a day, and I didn't have to spend money on anything except my air ticket."
Eyes north
SDMB remains primarily a show for high-end Brazilian retailers, but the change of venue could be good news for exhibitors here interested in the U.S. market. With a favorable exchange rate and the possibilities of duties on Chinese-made bedroom furniture looming, more Brazilians appear ready to adapt their product to U.S. tastes.
Exports increased 25% last year at case goods and kitchen manufacturer Rudnick, according to Augosto Wada, director of foreign marketing. Ninety percent of the company's exports go to the United States.
"A lot of the product we send to the U.S. is designed by American designers," Wada said. "With some wall units, entertainment centers, and dining tables and chairs, we don't have to change anything. The bedrooms and kitchens we change."
Wada noted that in the States, where more homes have closet space, people prefer dresser/mirrors or chests for bedroom storage. In Brazil, consumers use more large wall cabinets.
Rudnick also enjoys the benefits of a 70,000-square-foot addition to its existing 580,000-square-foot plant. Production in the expanded space began in October.
Upholstery and bedding manufacturer Mannes sends 35% to 40% of its exports — 55% of total business last year — to the United States. The company has exported for 14 years, but as little as three years ago, export business was perhaps 20% of sales, according to Vice President Roberto Mannes.
He credits the jump in exports to increased importing among decorators, a key target for Mannes' custom leather products, and a willingness to adapt to different consumer tastes.
"Products for markets like New York are very similar to those we sell in Brazil," Mannes said. "In areas like Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, they want furniture that's a little heftier and larger scale. The designs for those markets are totally different from what we'd sell in Brazil."
