he fairs should be back very soon. Is this return important?

Obviously. Tradeshows are extremely important for the development of any company. In fact, the development of all my business areas takes place abroad. In the beginning, the activity was much centred on the domestic market: 25, 30 years ago, customers came from abroad and placed their orders, occupying all the companies’ capacity. So, the entrepreneurs became accustomed to working from home. When I started my professional activity in the textile sector, I thought that the company should go abroad – that was where our success would be. We had about 60 people at the time, and today we have 240 because the fairs made us grow.

It was then that the business developed?

We created new business areas, reached new customers with more added value, and we diversified: at the time, one or two customers took our production for a whole year, which was a big risk. My business vision is to have many customers, from several countries.

Hence the importance of fairs?

They are essential. However, the entrepreneurs cannot think that all it takes is to attend a fair once, and the deal is done. You need to be persistent: customers like to see a company, a brand, present more than once. The first time is to establish contact, the second to enter the stand, the third to touch the product, the fourth is when they sit down and start talking.

Inarbel has a new project. Is it a challenge that started as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic?

Exactly, it all started there. The pandemic was something that no one expected. We could not have anticipated a year ago that at this time we would be producing hospital products, certified by CITEVE, Infarmed and other certifying entities, such as the Spanish ITEX. It is a new area for us, but we are already producing for Portugal, Spain and France.

That is, we are already in the market, we know what we want, and we’re going to win.

A new business area that exists for half a year. How much did you invest?

I delivered the spring/summer collection, and when the winter production was starting, there was a drop in orders. In March, everything was happening very fast, so I decided to give the employees a week of holyday, but it was not enough. Since January, I had been considering moving towards the medical field. I started to get worried – and began working ‘26 hours a day ’. I had to send around 40 employees for partial furlough, and another 47 went home to take care of their children when schools closed. A situation that would have to drag on for two, three months, and that would affect all workers in the factory. I had to get around this situation, focus on the solution, and not the problem. It was then that this ‘Covid business’ came to me. I teamed up with an agent I have in the Basque Country, and we started planning as early as February: I was told that the Basque Country was (well before Portugal) having great difficulties finding hospital products. At that time, the products were arriving from Asia and were real bad. I realized that this was our chance. I used my contacts in Portugal – I was ATP’s director for 12 years and I have many contacts – I made samples, made the first prototypes, and sent them to the Basque Country. They told me: “this is what we want”. I started to work directly with the Spanish State, with the communities of Andalusia, the Basque Country, Catalonia.

The first production was all for Spain.

All of it. I immediately ended the furlough in April: two hundred thousand articles were ordered. After those came more orders, and in a short time we were working at 100%. I can say that last May – normally a weak month – was Inarbel’s most profitable month, ever. On the other hand, I employed numerous micro-compani

es in the region, many of them depending on Inditex, which had blocked all orders. At that time, the Portugal 2020 Covid-19 measures appeared, and we decided to apply. We had to do a project in 60 days, to benefit from a support that seemed very interesting: 80% non-refundable, with an increase of another 15% if it fulfilled all requirements. We did the project in one week, working day and night. Inarbel’s project was one of the first to enter IAPMEI, and was the first to be finished. I managed to develop a project of around 400 thousand euros in one month and 20 days, including the purchase of machines, and without stopping production. 

Do you think you will close 2020 with a higher turnover than in 2019?

I wouldn’t be so optimistic. The problem that affected the traditional areas of the business is not over yet – it could become even more serious. Production for 2021 has not yet returned to the 2019 numbers. The recovery is slow – hence the need to invest in this new business area, which has to be strengthened, because it allows us to balance the company. If I earn the same as last year, between 8 and 10 million euros, I will be pleased. Two or three years from now, when everything improves, I want to reach another level…

Which will be…?

With the brand that we created for the medical sector, Skylab, my ambition is to reach 15 million euros in 2022.

Not in 2021?

2021 is going to be very complicated.

Inarbel had three business areas so far: the brands Dr. Kid and A.J. and the private label. Now there will be one more, Skylab. How much did each weigh in turnover, and what will the new distribution look like going forward?

So far, the private label weighed 60%, and our brands weighed 40%. From now on, the private label should decrease to 30 or 35%, the own brands to 30%. The rest should come from Skylab. We will be very close to 15 million in 2022.

When was the company created?

It is a family business created in 1984 by my parents. I arrived at the company 20 years ago, at a time when we had 70 workers, and a turnover of around 1 million euros, all coming from private label. My parents created the A.J. brand for the Portuguese market, then I created Dr. Kid, which was launched from the United States – I wanted to bring the brand from the outside in. At the time, all that came from outside was good. In the past 15 to 20 years, the textile industry has changed completely.

In some ways, all that mattered was abroad.

It was important to expose ourselves to the world at the trade shows – I did them all with Associação Selectiva Moda, which, together with ATP – Portugal’s Textile and Clothing Association, organizes all very well, and needs to be praised for that.

How much do exports weigh in turnover?

They weigh 90%. We export to 24 countries: Spain, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, United Arab Emirates, China, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic…

Are any of these markets reopening already?

The most complicated markets at the moment are the North American and the South American. In Europe, I notice that Spain, Italy and England are already opening.

How do you assess the State’s response to the pandemic?

The state is, and very well, betting on the manufacturing industry. Without this help it would certainly be much more difficult. The aid with the furlough, and with investments was very beneficial. Now, I ask: with the quality of what is produced here, does it make sense to continue to buy abroad? Does it make sense to spend 250 million euros on Asian supplies for the medical sector? Especially because we have another concern: the circular economy. It is necessary to give work to Portuguese companies, through all the transforming sectors.

The support from the European Union is coming. What impact can it have?

I hope that the European Union’s great funding is well-used.

On what?

In tradable goods companies that generate employment. However, I’m afraid that money will be misused. Our money, which can be used to generate employment, must be subjected to greater control.

Do you believe that, when the pandemic is over, the tradable goods industry will continue to be the European focus, or it will opt for lower Asian prices again?

It is a difficult question to answer, but at the same time very easy: people want what is local. The European Union should follow this trend: buy what is European. We are the best at what we do, we have everything that is good. This virus has brought a lot of reservations about what comes from Asia.