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Neves Pereira & Silva – Poltex is a company with over 25 years’ experience in the manufacture of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. Its history includes several internationally renowned brands, such as Agatha Ruiz de La Prada, El Corte Ingles and Tekla, which it helped to grow. Today Paulo Neves Pereira, CEO, says that the future of textiles lies in investing in private labels.
“We’re living in a time when the demand for quality and sustainable production is increasing. Made in Portugal is recognised, we should focus on creating our own brands focused on quality,” he tells T Jornal, going further – “we should focus on the commitment to quality rather than the logo. For example, I’d like to create my own brand with made-to-measure/customised pieces, using innovative production processes.”
The Guimarães company already has all the know-how in-house: it combines modelling, cutting, making and packaging in a 1000 m2 space in the Brito industrial estate. It mainly produces women’s blouses, t-shirts, sweats and polos, but also dresses, pyjamas, children’s shelters and other items, which it exports to countries such as Spain, Denmark, Sweden and the United States.
For Paulo Neves, the key is to focus on niches and value-added pieces: “We don’t go for quantity, prices are getting increasingly squeezed, we have to find a way to differentiate ourselves and stop accepting jobs that don’t cover production costs. You have to plan before you accept work,” he reiterates.
The entrepreneur started out in his home garage and is now on the rise, with around four brands taking over all of his production, the most prominent being the Danish brand Son of a Tailor. The company has even had to acquire two other small made-to-measure garment factories to fulfil the orders of the made-to-measure and made-to-order menswear brand. “It’s the made-to-measure companies that sustain the textiles we export,” concludes Paulo Neves Pereira, giving credit to his partners.