United Arab Emirates Purchased Five Thousand Post-Surgical Girdles from Colombia

Whether for surgery related to pregnancy or aesthetics, women from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain from now on will be able to acquire post-surgical girdles made in Colombia.

The quality and design of the garments produced by Fajitex, a company from Medellin with seven years of experience in the domestic market, intrigued Momammeh Al-Mawali, one of the main distributors of Colombian apparel in the Middle East. Al-Mawali participated in Colombiamoda 2013 at PROCOLOMBIA's invitation.

"We got to know him through PROCOLOMBIA, since we're taking part in one of the organization's programs to adapt our products to the demands of the international market. We got together again in Medellin and agreed to trade up to five thousand girdles during the year," stated Juan Camilo Velez, manager of strategic planning at Fajitex.

The company, which already exports to the Dominican Republic, Curacao, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela, dedicates two percent of its production to foreign trade. "Within five years, we hope to increase this figure to 40 percent, but the idea is to reach 50 percent," Velez added.

Fajitex was part of the group of 12 small and medium enterprises that PROCOLOMBIA supported during Colombiamoda 2013. These enterprises also participate in one of the organization's adaptation programs. Its aim is provide the tools that allow entrepreneurs to get to know international markets and their main demands and trends, and thus to make the changes necessary to facilitate successful exports.

Four Other Potential Markets

PROCOLOMBIA has identified opportunities for Colombian shapewear in markets such as Peru, the Northern Triangle, the United States and the European Union.

In the European Union, for example, quality and design are prioritized over the brand of the girdle. The trend is to source garments with technology built into the material that help correct the figure, benefit skin, facilitate fat-burning, that breath and deliver performance with elastic materials. Opportunities have also been identified for organic girdles, using beech, bamboo or silk fibers.

Within the niche markets are products with breathable materials for brides, sportswear, menswear and maternity post-surgical and thermal shapewear.

The United States, on the other hand, demands design and large sizes. This sector has been one of the winners of the Free Trade Agreement, since, according to information from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, with data from DANE, Colombian shapewear exports reached a total of USD 5.6 million between May 2012 and April 2013. This represents an increase of 28.3 percent compared to the same period the previous year.