TEXTILES
From high fashion to cutting-edge military wear, Portuguese textile manufacturers are breaking ground at every end of the spectrum, with dramatic results.
We have concentrated our efforts on the European textile market because brands today are introducing more collections into the market to keep clients interested. The textile business in Europe, and Portugal in particular, has been growing in recent years. We benefit from being close to North Africa. Turkey is our main competitor because it is completely vertical. Portugal has a long tradition in textiles. Textile businesses are divided in many specialties, and Portugal has become extremely strong in Europe. Our main focus is shirts, trousers, jackets, and knitted materials for polos, sweats, and others. The knowledge is here as a result of our long tradition in the sector. The most competitive element today is our proximity to the consumer. We work to be an industrial extension of our clients, to provide quick solutions for their product differentiation challenges, and offer shorter wait times for their idea to reach the market. Our know-how and capacity are important, though the most significant thing is our proximity to the client.
What Riopele has become today is a result of the company's constant evolution. Our current production involves not only the way the product is made on a daily basis, but also the company itself. We also have to consider the results of our work from a commercial and a financial standpoint that involves all of the company's departments. A decade ago, people were saying the textile sector was an obsolete industry that needed to delocalize production and be closer to raw material producers and more affordable labor. However, Riopele successfully transformed that trend through innovation. It also did something that is increasingly important for companies: ensuring the client recognizes the company and its quality of services. If a client sends an order to Riopele today for delivery in six weeks, the challenge for us is to ensure that in six weeks, it will be delivered. In order for innovation to be a reality, the company has to operate like a finely tuned orchestra with everyone working closely together to implement the same strategy.
We were founded in 1947 and over the years have learned how things work and identified trends in each of our four markets. We are present in the fashion business, where we work from middle to high end. We have to identify the latest trends in fashion and bring our clients the right products at the right time. We are also active in the sports business, and more ideas emerge through R&D. Our strategy is already set, and we know where we are and where we want to be for each market segment. Our collection for 2019-2020 is ready to be presented in segments such as fashion, sports, protective, work wear, and sustainable fabrics. In each case, we know the trends and the market. Products for the military are different from selling high fashion or sports items. We maintain our strategy of leading the market in our different segments. We will strengthen our presence in the US, especially with performance sports. We do not want textiles to be a passive element, but rather an active one in the Portuguese economy.
Inovafil is a brand-new project for spinning mills owned by the Mundifios Group, the biggest yarn trader in Europe. The group's daily trade touches 180 tons, with a yearly turnover of EUR100 million. During the textile crisis 30 years ago, companies like Mundifios scouted other markets for textile yarns. The majority of mills were forced to close, as Asian countries started to produce yarn at a cheaper price. Although our parent company exported only 30% of its trade, the executives realized the need to serve customers with an entire range of yarn in order to survive. The key to survival was to understand the market's changing needs and anticipate future market trends. For example, climate change is having a profound effect on how people dress in different countries. So, to be ahead of the competition, the company needed to predict future trends and plan accordingly. We began our Nidyarn R&D initiative from scratch three years ago when we decided to create a brand-new spinning mill to cater to market demand for both Mundifios and Inovafil.
The textile business in Portugal accounts for more than USD5.75 billion in exports. The home textile business, which we are in, is about USD920 million. The latter used to be a conservative one, as home textiles are traditionally not known to be as glamorous as high fashion or other segments of the industry. What we try to do is show that home textiles can also be fashionable. It is something that users must like the look and feel of, just like clothes. In recent years, people have been talking a great deal about home textiles being related to one's well-being. It is important to be comfortable at home because that is where one spends at least 12 hours of the day. What we do is bring that concept to customers. The New York Times' motto is “All the news that's fit to print” and we want to do that for home textiles—“Textiles that fit your passion for life.” And when thinking about our competitive advantage, our location is crucial.
TEXTILES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Focus: Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries
Making an Impact
Established in 1996, the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP) is a mechanism geared at linking and sharing the experience of Lusophone countries. Besides Portugal, this includes Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
read articleFocus
Don’t Mind the Disruption
Having won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, Lisbon hosted the 2018 event. The relevance? Well, the contest began back in 1956 as a showcase not only of song, but of then-nascent live television broadcast technology. Today, Portugal is on the cutting edge of new technological developments.
read articleInterview
João Pedro Soeiro de Matos Fernandes , Minister , Environment and Energy Transition
The Ministry for the Environment and Energy Transition is focusing on decarbonizing the economy, valuing the territory and its habitats, and striving for a more circular use of the country's resources.
read articleInterview
António Braz Costa , General Manager, Portuguese Technological Centre for the Textile & Clothing Industries (CITEVE)
CITEVE has transformed the industry by promoting value addition, adopting the latest technologies, and ensuring the highest standards of environmental sustainability.
read articleFocus: New airport
Right Time to Seize Missed Opportunities
Portugal has seen its air traffic figures increase by as much as 80% in the last five years. As a result, its transportation infrastructure, and Lisbon's airport in particular, cannot cope with the rising numbers. A new airport project that will turn a military base into a commercial airport is now under discussion to bring much-needed relief to air traffic.
read articleInterview
Germano de Sousa , President, Grupo Germano de Sousa
Grupo Germano de Sousa's success can best be summed up by its understanding that science and medicine only really progress when technological development is combined with a deeper respect for human values and professional ethics.
read articleInterview
Isabel Capeloa Gil , Rector, Universidade Católica
Having pioneered the introduction of multiple subject areas to Portugal's tertiary education scene, Universidade Católica is aspiring to establish the country's first private medical school and introduce cutting-edge digital transformation.
read articleInterview
Carlos Guillén Gestoso , President, Escola Universitária de Ciências Empresariais, Saúde, Tecnologias e Engenharia & President, Atlantica University
Atlantica University differentiates through its company-university model and an MBA program in partnership with the University of California, Berkley, among other initiatives, to produce practical theoreticians.
read articleFocus: Public teaching staff
An Age-old Problem
Over a decade of austerity measures combined with an ageing population have seen the average age of the Portuguese public teaching staff progressively climb to one of the highest in the OECD. With frozen salaries, an extended retirement age, and precarious working conditions, today the sector faces one of its biggest challenge yet.
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Pedro Queiroz , General Manager, Federation of the Portuguese Agri-Food Industry (FIPA)
Portugal's economic recovery has seen its F&B sector emerge with annual turnovers of EUR16 billion, thanks to FIPA's undeterred focus on stable policies, excellent nutrition standards, and sustainability.
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