INTERVIEW WITH OUR CEO, CARLOS SERRA
T82 is now available online. The April print edition interviewed Carlos Serra, CEO of Troficolor, who gave his perspective on upcycling. On the other hand, YGrego reveals, in 'Two Coffees and a Bill', that it is betting on its own brands in order to grow. In 'My Company', Manuel Sousa Lopes explains how to button up the future for decades. And Marta Amaro, fashion designer from Polopiqué, in 'Emergente'", emphasizes her taste for being outside her own comfort zone. T82 also had time to answer the question 'Will the Decent Work Agenda Benefit Business? And it tells the centennial story of Mundotêxtil. The print edition can now be read in full here.
Interview
1. How was the year 2022 at Troficolor?
It turned out to be a positive year, against what were the initial expectations. We have the advantage of not being an industry. Already our partners faced complicated situations and we had to be there to help them because of the big increase in prices of raw materials, energy and fuel. The year ended in a nice way. Turnover had an increase compared to the year 2021, which had also been better than the year 2020.
2. Have you managed to overcome all the problems posed by the pandemic?
Fortunately with us the problems were mild. The year 2020 started very complicated - we had to close a few days in March. But from May on things, against expectations, picked up - even though we were not among the companies that were connected to Covid products. Our business continued to be linked to the fashion area. I even did some experiments, but they didn't go well. There were many of our customers who went for those solutions as an alternative - masks and personal protective medical equipment - when they stopped having orders in the fashion area.
3. Which markets do you sell to the most?
The most important ones, because of their proximity, are the European markets: Spain, France, Italy and England.
4. What is the percentage of exports?
In terms of turnover, 95% is exports. Part of it is direct, around 35% is invoiced to the end client, and the remaining 60% is made to Portuguese companies that are dedicated to private label (indirect exports). Last year we went from 35 to 39 countries. France has for sympathy a percentage with some significance, because part of the Premiere Vision visitors are French. Although we don't do any fair in Italy, this market also has some weight. England, with the Brexit, things have cooled down a bit - but we still have business, we're even going to have another new fair in June, besides The London Textile Fair. In terms of trade shows we also do JITAC in Japan - and of course our MODTISSIMO. This year we also did an experiment with our agent at a fair in Madrid and in Vigo.
5. Outside of Europe, which markets are you in?
We have Japan, we have something in the United States - we are trying to get a little closer to this market. We already work with an agent in New York but we realize that it's not enough for a market as vast as the American one. We also have agents in South Korea and Taiwan. Colombia and Canada are also markets where we want to grow.
6. How are you going to approach the North American market?
We think that it will have to pass through the recruiting of more agents that understand and feel our product to communicate it properly. In Europe we have all that: the proximity, the fairs, agents who have been working with us for many years: communication is much easier. We have also reached many customers through our B2B platform, which was created before the pandemic. When the confinement happened, we already had B2B active, so we can reach our customers more easily. However, we still need to keep the humanization of the business. The business has to have that component.
7. Is communicating the patina of old machines what North Americans are looking for?
Yes. Also the Scandinavian market has a lot of appetite for this vintage concept. In fact, by now upcycling is already becoming "Fashion". Four years ago, when we launched the upcycling concept, a colleague of yours told me that we were showing the "monos". Fashion is timeless. I've been in this field for 40 years and you can tell that fashion is cyclical. More and more Americans are talking about deadstocks, which is no more and no less than what already exists, because it is the most sustainable. We do this internally: all our space, the old Mabor, is a reuse of what existed. We gave everything a second life - why not do it to fabrics? It's the simplest thing, and customers are having a huge appetite for seeking out this concept. Upcycling has become fashionable - until now it would have been a shame to use things that were old, now it looks good and will be a trend for years to come.
8. Troficolor was therefore a pioneer on some fronts: Upcycling, B2B.
We couldn't be present at all the fairs, but we needed to reach markets such as the United States, Canada, and other attractive markets. If we didn't have our own channels, or the best channels - which were, for example, the agents - we needed to support the markets where we were. We did it! But all this doesn't take away the need to be present in the main fairs, in order to have physical contact with the client, because they need that humanization.
9. What are you 'up to' that is still out of time and will be the next fad?
We don't know (laughs). There is one thing that I have already realized is here to stay: the concept of Upcycling, the reuse (se- gunda-mão). The market is accepting it, because they have already realized that it is okay to use what is used. But there will be a downside: it will cool down the sales of the new stuff!
10. How is 2023 going? Is it being a tough year?
Not yet, but we already see some signs. Fortunately, we are not very focused on a specific market, and for that reason we haven't felt it yet. We closed last year with 800 clients - about 350 in the foreign market, 450 in the domestic market, which allows us this diversification. We don't have clients with excessive weight, the invoicing is distributed in a balanced way. More than increasing the number of clients, our purpose is to stabilize and strengthen the relationship we have with them. They are our most precious asset. Our business is partly based on trading - we produce in several parts of the world, and when I'm placing orders I give special importance to the relationship I have with my partners, because they are the ones who support me so that we can maintain our image of quality and service in the market. And with our customers we do the same, it is very important to maintain our proximity and their trust.
11. What are the added values that Troficolor presents to its 800 active customers?
Creativity, sustainability, quality and security in service.
12. What do you think about the theme of sustainability?
In relation to this theme, I think that there is a need for more information from some players, including brands and the final consumer.
13. An example.
For example, in the case of organic cotton, for the final product to be certified, the GOTS standard requires that the entire production chain, from the planting of the cotton to the production of the garment, be certified, attesting to the compliance with the rules and the traceability of the organic cotton. And the final mark is not GOTS? You can't tell.
And we are asked that the whole chain be GOTS. The educational part is also missing for the final consumer. If this consumer buys a GOTS garment, he or she has a whole set of standards that have been met; but if he or she washes it at home with other, non-certified garments, there goes the whole chain! The consumer is now also looking for recycled cotton, but in their own way - which is not possible: recycled fibers have their own characteristics. Of course, the most sustainable is upcycling: reusing fabrics that already exist: they have no energy costs associated with them - which is not the case with recycled, which needs to be re-processed and new fibers produced, but at least it prevents the fabrics from ending up in landfills. The excess of clothing that is produced in the world is a brutality and a large percentage of it also ends up in landfills or is incinerated.
14. What can be done to educate the final consumer?
The final consumer is still a poor student when it comes to sustainability...
15. Look more at the price.
Exactly. You talk a lot about what you would like things to be, ideology... but in practice they don't do much for that. We have a lot of difficulty practically throughout the chain - it's the final consumer who dictates what the market is asking for, but some of the players who are in the middle also need to become better informed about this "sustainability" issue.
16. Do you believe that the EU will do any action to protect the European industry?
So far, they have never been interested in doing anything. It will only be interested when the main countries have industry again, like Germany, France... Then they will do something. If industry remains on the periphery, in the south of Europe, our voice has no weight.
17. That's the other side of the European promise: reindustrialization. Is that worth believing in?
It should objectively pass that way. We had the example of what it was like to be held hostage by Asia when it was the pandemic problem. People just don't learn if they don't want to. We can't be in business for the price - that would be being a little short.
18. What else does Troficolor offer?
Service is important. For example, our strongest point is stock. We have stock service for most of the items in our collection. It is a higher risk model for us, but it is more comfortable and secure for our clients. Our risk ends up being a differentiating aspect and gives more confidence to the customer. The client needs this comfort, needs convenience. We have a wider and wider range of products, we are almost a grocery store. Once again, this positioning is a greater risk for us, but it is also differentiating in practice. There are very few companies working with this model.
And, of course, we aim to be as competitive as possible - we want to win business, grow with customers - but always trying to anticipate their needs. We also work very often as a kind of consultant.
19. This is an attractive business model for Europe, for what is close by. Can you replicate it for the United States, for Canada?
Probably yes, I don't think distance would be a problem.
20. Troficolor came into existence in 1956. What is the secret of its longevity?
The only certainty is that we are here. The recipe is never the same - we are always attentive and available to make the necessary adaptations to the challenges we encounter. Each company has its DNA - the way each entrepreneur transmits his or her values to the company. We have to be always alert and open to change.
