PORTUGUESE CULTURE IN NEW YORK
Six Portuguese companies are travelling to the Big Apple to take part, for the very first time, in the winter edition of the NY Now exhibition, an initiative organised by Associação Selectiva Moda, under the From Portugal internationalisation project. The Javits Convention Center will host this event, held from 30 January to 3 February.
AMR - Burel Factory - 3DCork - Carapau Portuguese Products - M O S Portugal - Mézë Mediterraneum – are the six companies that will take part in NY NOW, integrated in the From Portugal internationalisation project, an initiative of Associação Selectiva Moda.
3DCork will present a diversified collection of items for the home, ranging from the table to decoration and utilities, in cork and/or combined with other materials and which stand out for their contemporary design, being ecological and made in Portugal. The new colours and textures are a highlight. This is an important market for the company. «The North American market is of great interest to 3DCORK due to its size and diversity. We're going to invest heavily over the next 2-3 years to enlarge the customer base in this market», explains Sara Nunes, commercial manager of the company. «Our expectations are essentially to disseminate the material we work with, its features and advantages, in order to seduce distributors and retailers to include them in their product ranges», she adds.
New ranges of small office accessories, ranges illustrated by the designer Madalena Braga (Alfaces and Marias), some blankets of the new Mantecas collection in the decorative segment, coordinated with the three-dimensional Burel cushions and jugs and fashion accessories from the Capelista designers, Sara and Pedro, are the main highlights exhibited by Burel Factory. «It is our first participation in this fair, with the main aim of getting to know and testing the market, promoting the brand and our products. Our expectations are essentially intangible, the enhancing of the brand and market knowledge», states Isabel Costa, CEO of the company.
PortugalHome, Mia Zarrocco and Premhyum are the three brands taken by AMR to New York. «We are already in this market and our participation in the event is aimed at strengthening the company image and the brands. The collection is produced in 100% cotton and it is mostly jacquards», says Ana Maria Ribeiro, CEO of the company.
Carapau Portuguese Products presents three collections at NY Now. These collections share the same concepts, contemporaneity and reinvention of traditional Portuguese products. Colourful dolls, key chains and home products such as cushions, placemats and napkins made of Burel cloth and Portuguese linen are the highlights «The US market is one that interests us. We want to internationally expand our brand and begin selling in this market», states Rita Faria, manager of the company.
Deartis specialises in the production of utilities and decorative articles in stoneware and earthenware. It takes collections for the table, for serving, decorative items, and candles to the Big Apple, through its new brand M O S Portugal. «The main market of Deartis is the USA. It also exports to more than 40 countries distributed over several continents. We created a new brand in 2015 as part of our expansion process, M O S, and this is the brand we want to promote. The brand was launched in Paris in September 2015, and now we are going to present it at NY Now», says Jorge Louro, CEO of the company. «It makes sense for us to present our new brand in the USA, where we provide customers like: Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, Neiman Marcus, Oscar de la Renta, West Elm and Dillards. We aim for our participation at this event to expand our range of customers, promote our brand and products, and we hope to be able to position our brand in other customer segments», he adds.
According to José Grilo, manager of Ernesto Grilo, «North America is one of the markets with the greatest potential for the collection of the Mézë brand». The Mèzë product range covers the home, kitchen, table and home textile segments, which encompasses all the products of this brand. Of particular note is: saucepans, pans, paella and tajine pans in enamelled cast iron, for cooking like a gourmet chef with slow food style menus. There are also table and kitchen boards designed in natural raw materials from the Mediterranean, slate and cork, bringing Mèzë in harmony with consumers who identify themselves with a healthy and green lifestyle. «Our products stand out for their innovative form and strong cultural mark, using high quality raw materials and finishes, thus meeting the profile required by the American consumer», he adds.
NY Now is the largest fair in the USA in the decoration and gift field. It is divided into three main areas: Home, Lifestyle and HandMade.
The participation of the six portuguese companies in one more NY Now edition is an initiative promoted by the Selectiva Moda Association, co-financed by the EU Structural and Investment Funds as part of the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020 and COMPETE 2020. The FROM PORTUGAL project is made up of approximately 81 international activities which take place in the second half of 2015 and in 2016, covering the entire textile and fashion industry and spread over four continents, with a total investment of over 13 million euros.
