Design and innovation "From Portugal" to conquer Japan

It’s known to be a demanding market, where bonds of trust are essential in order to succeed. Japan is historically a strategic destination for the Portuguese industry, and between July 17^th and 19^th, an embassy of Portuguese companies will be visiting Tokyo to attend the Interior Lifestyle Tokyo, the main Japanese decoration and interior design fair.

António Salgado, Apertex, Carapau Portuguese Products, Carvalho, Ditto, Invidro Glass Art, Lasa, Little Nothing By Paula Castro, Mantecas, Marias Paperdolls and Vicara are the companies that integrate the "From Portugal" entourage, organized by Associação Selectiva Moda, which is joined by Mundotextil. At the Japanese fair they will showcase the best of the Portuguese production in several sectors, from home textiles to jewellery.

"Japan is a market with a lot of potential, but we also know that it requires time and persistence," explains Tiago Lopes, Têxteis Carvalho's commercial manager, summarizing the image that the Japanese market has built over the years. However, this high demand only makes the market more interesting for Portuguese exports, driving companies to prepare many novelties to present at the fair. Têxteis Carvalho, a towels specialist, will present several new designs for the next seasons.

"It's a very demanding market," adds Claudia Nair Oliveira, Marias Papperdolls’ brand representative, who has been betting on establishing contacts in Japan. "The acceptance has been fantastic,” she says.

"At this fair, we will introduce new products, different designs and innovative colours", says António Salgado, manager of the home textile company with the same name. Participating for the third consecutive year, the company already has clients in the Japanese market and has some meetings scheduled for this edition.

Also with contacts already established, Ditto expects to sell its Byline collection, a range of articles with a decorative and organizing function. "This market, because of its sophistication and size, is very important for our brand. We already have some meetings scheduled with Japanese retail chains," says Mário Lobo, managing director of the company based in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Expectations are also high for Vicara, a decoration company that is preparing the launch of a new product line. "Japan is a bet for the future, and we will present our most premium line, entitled Terra, which is focused on natural materials," says Paulo Sellmayer, director of the company.

Besides being an opportunity for the Portuguese industry, the fair is also important to the Portuguese designers. It’s the case of inVidro Glass Art, by Sérgio Malpique Lopes, and Little Nothing by Paula Castro. Both will take advantage of their presence in Tokyo to show the best of their art: "Japan is a country that values commitments and trust in interpersonal relationships. Values that I also have in my life, " says Paula Castro. "I hope to find a good acceptance of my pieces for their unique characteristics", adds Sérgio Malpique Lopes.

At the fair, which takes place at Tokyo Big Sight West fair, many buyers are expected to visit the 760 exhibitors from 26 countries.

The Portuguese companies participation in Interior Lifestyle Tokyo is an initiative of Selectiva Moda and ATP - Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal, which aims to promote the internationalization of Portuguese fashion companies. The project “From Portugal” is co-financed by Portugal 2020, under Compete 2020 - Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization, with an eligible support amount of €12,118,285.17, of which €6,695,352.55 comes through the European Regional Development Fund.