Our real strategy was none other than to form a team full of enthusiasm, eager to grow and willing to do whatever it took to grow every day.
And I say this because in times of high order peaks we have sometimes helped the department that needed it most to get everything done. If orders needed to be prepared, we would prepare orders; if labelling needed to be done, we would label; if merchandise needed to be unloaded and sorted, we would do it, regardless of what our main task was.
The 2019SS season begins with the first fair where we present our collection every year, Pitti Uomo. That fair was a sure success since the Italian market is one of the most powerful in fashion, and so it was, we found clients from almost all continents, although mainly they were almost all European. Later on, at other fairs, buyers from stores, buyers from Ecommerce companies, distributors, press… and some other scouts appeared to get ideas, watch out for them!
We finally met a potential distributor for Cyprus, and a few weeks later he placed his first order to start distributing in the small island in the eastern Mediterranean. Coincidentally, this distributor had an old friend of his who knew the brand and started distributing PARAFINA in Lebanon. One of the most complicated things in the operation was the import of the product, so you have to have some knowledge of the INCOTERMS depending on the interest of each client. We usually work EXW Incoterm, which means that the client picks up the goods in our warehouse and takes charge of them once they leave the door. In this way, the client managed the shipments of the product. It is very important to have a trusted customs agent to help and speed up all the necessary procedures so that the import in the destination country takes place as soon as possible and thus avoid delays. Since a delay means two things, one: an angry client, and two: loss of days of sale, therefore, a later re-purchase.
The key to success is to introduce the brand to a new market, in the same way that you introduce your brand to every client at international fairs. This way everything will make sense and there will be no contradictions. In addition, the relationship with the client is very important since you are giving them all the relevant information to open a market and create a WIN-WIN situation.
After several months of work, errors appear, there are delays in shipments, there are guarantees, doubts arise from the distributor about the product, others ask for improved commercial conditions, relationships are broken or new ones appear and doubts also arise from customers who ask the distributor.
Today the relationship is one of complete trust and communication is very fluid, therefore the fluidity in solving problems is very good and the proactivity on both sides is good enough to achieve more sales in each order.
In 2019, Lebanon began to suffer a very strong socio-political crisis due to corruption carried over from previous years.
Banks did not allow you to take money out of the country, either to insure it or to buy products from other countries. Therefore, sales decreased. The drop was so great that we had to find an alternative so that the sales of that client would not be so catastrophic.
Therefore, having knowledge of the Middle Eastern market and culture, in one of our phone calls I asked the client if he would be able to open other markets in a better economic, social and political situation.
He told me that he would do everything possible to do so, so much so that he came to Madrid to our offices and we signed an official Agent agreement for the Middle East, so at the end of 2020 our distributor went to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Jordan, and managed to open new clients in these countries, today it is one of the markets with the greatest potential. But also one with the greatest restrictions since the product must be registered by the government, as well as labeling the product in its native language.
The conclusion that both the client and Parafina have drawn is that when faced with adverse situations we must adapt and seek a viable solution, taking advantage of all the strengths that we have in a market with opportunities and without being exploited, such as the Middle East. It is also clear that interpersonal relationships are very important, since in addition to the interest in the business of both parties, the relationship has been strengthened by friendship, understanding and feelings.
It is extremely important to know first-hand the needs and requirements of each country, since depending greatly on their culture, they can make many things easier or more difficult. These types of things can be payment methods, transport agreements, whether it is included or not, type of INCOTERM, guarantees and many others...