Lupo enters sports products market
Valor Econômico
Today we are exactly 339 days away from the beginning of the FIFA Soccer World CupTM in South Africa. However, for socks manufacturer Lupo, the competition has already started. The company celebrates the 22% growth in income from January to June now placing in the market a new line of products: sports material for soccer.
"It is a strategic launching, since we are less than a year away from the Cup", affirms Valquírio Cabral Junior, commercial officer of the company headquartered in Araraquara (SP) - where the officer is also a director in a local team, the Associação Ferroviária de Esportes.
The strategy of the company is to gain room in this market sponsoring and supplying sports material for teams with fanatic fans. He explains: in the business world involving soccer, the most profitable teams are not necessarily the largest ones or those which are winning at the moment. The most profitable ones are those whose fans are crazy for the team. Besides t-shirts, shorts, socks, bags, among other products will be launched.
With the new products, Lupo, which a little while ago used to work only with socks and underwear (four years ago it increased its portfolio with the launching of the lingerie line), expects to see its income increase by 20% this year, which would increase the sales of the company from R$ 385 million (US$ 210.4 million) last year to R$ 450 million (US$ 233.2 million).
In the beginning of 2009, the company planned growing 12%, but it reviewed its goal upwards in view of the accelerated sales caused by the low temperatures in the South and Southeast. "Women started wearing panty-hoses again this winter and we have a great number of models", says the officer. Thanks to these consumers, Lupo, according to him, sold 33% more panty-hoses this half than in the first six months of 2008. And this way it closed the first half of the year with 22% better a performance.
The franchises of the brand are also increasing. There were 48 units until December 31 and now they are 160. The income of the franchises grew 25% in the first half, in a comparison with the same units.