here does BeStitch come from and how did the company start?

BeStitch emerged in a very simple way, as a small tailor-made clothing manufacture working for other companies. We took advantage of the opportunities that emerged, which enabled us to grow.    

Did this tailor-made manufacture already exist?

Yes. It was a small unit that my father was considering closing and as I was working in a company that subcontracted a lot I decided to move forward. Beware that we are talking about the manufacture of home-textiles. We also started looking for foreign clients. I had worked with agents which bought fabrics from Scandinavia and so started considering whether it would be more profitable for us to manufacture. This was how we started to grow.  

What exactly does BeStitch do nowadays?

It produces a wide range of home textiles, from table wear to bedlinen. We produce everything related to home textiles and we also have some fleece, even though they are not produced internally. At the moment and in the chain of value the only thing we don’t have is spinning. We have weaving, cutting and tailoring, trimming and we export directly. 

To which markets?

Essentially Europe and North America, mainly the United States, which even though being a  recent adventure already represents half of our turnover. Traditionally, for historic reasons, we started with the French market – still today it represents 30% – and then moved further north to England, Netherlands and Nordic countries before jumping to the USA. At the moment we are present from Canada to New Zealand. 

What is the proportion between exports and the internal market?

We are working 100% exclusively to exports.

How is the structure of the company?

We have weaving, located in Gondar, with 32 looms. It increased considerably over the last years and works exclusively with flax and hemp. We don’t work with cotton in weaving as it isn’t profitable. Here in Lordelo (where the interview is being held), we have the trimming plant, meaning, where the fabrics coming from the loom are finished… dying, enriching. After that it goes to Pevidém for storage and cutting of all the parts to be forwarded to manufacturing. We also have our own manufacturing in Gondar, where the expedition departs from. We have internal ability, in all these areas, but most of the labour is subcontracted, exception made to the trimming factory, where we use one third of the production ability and the rest is service supply to other companies. 

What areas and number of workers are we talking about?

On the whole we must have around 22 to 23 square meters. There are around 250 workers but the trend is to reduce it, not only due to labour force issues but also due to the challenge of production automation mechanisms, still expensive and limited in their functions, but which will be inevitable. I would say we have a decade to adapt and we will only have three chances: either we go for automation, labour force import or production displacement. 

And in which perspective do you work?

We are currently still working in a traditional system but we are heading towards automation, an investment which shall amount to three or four million euros. 

You said that in

By hiring human resources used to this type of market. We did a market study, we talked to people and analysed who could help us. We were doing this evaluation for a year and after that we succeeded quickly.  The major American clients have people here who assess, the biggest contracts are even made in Portugal and are then complemented with visits to some trade fairs and by contacting the client. 

Apparently it went out just fine…

It has undoubtedly been a very interesting adventure. If it were not for the current circumstances the commercial part would be the least of our worries. Our demand has always been much bigger than our offer ability. We notice some downsizing as usually, by this time, we would have working prospects until February or March next year and this process is somewhat delayed. 

And what does it have to do with?

Mainly with the inflation. It is a real problem in all economies and all latitudes and it will bring changes, mainly in a product which is not an essential good as home-textiles is. 

If USA represent half, what is BeStitch’s turnover?

We are talking about around 32, 33 million euros. We were constantly growing, even during Covid, at the beginning of which we were producing masks for one or two months. 

There is great importance in the option for linen in this evolution, right?

Linen is a natural fiber associated to sustainability, it is not a fad. Before cotton, linen was already being produced, which placed us in a differentiated medium-high market. Linen is sold in great centres with purchasing power. 

How did you go for this bet?

It was around 2008 and it started as an experiment. I remember that we assembled the first linen fabric and two months after that all I wanted was to tear everything apart as the loom didn’t make progress. It is an extremely difficult fibre to work with. Then, with some skill we managed to make industrial manufacturing adequate to market prices, we proposed it to some clients who appreciated the idea and it just flowed. We didn’t copy anyone, it wasn’t a thought strategy, it was just an experiment that went well.   

And how do you deal with competitors, namely producers from China and India?

First and foremost there is great difference in terms of quality. In the American market, for example, a made in Portugal label is worth more than an eastern product. Then we have this fantastic singularity of having more than 80% of the world’s production of linen made in Europe, mainly in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. However, then there is China that has 80% of spinning, meaning that the fibre travels from Europe to China and from China to Europe. This means that the labour cost is reduced to us when compared to the shipping costs faced by the Chinese, enabling us to have more competitive prices. We already export to Xangai, which is extraordinary. If someone in 2005 had told me I would export to Xangai I would say it was science fiction. 

Why isn’t there a bigger bet in the spinning of linen in Europe?

A spinning plant opened in France and this is a trend that will eventually reach BeStitch. Controlling spinning is also a target of ours. 

With product coming from France?

Yes, because the Portuguese linen share – and this comes from PAC times – is ridiculous. I would like more linen to be produced in Portugal as it is an easy crop and we had a great tradition in growing it. In 1949 it was our biggest export and here, in the Guimarães area, it was a strong culture. The linen party is still held in S. Torcato. I don’t know the numbers from memory but I believe that nowadays the share for the production of linen in Portugal is 450 tons, which is ridiculous as BeStitch alone spends 1500 tons a year.