For the fourth consecutive year aiming to position Brazilian designers abroad, especially in North America, the Raiz Project is taking part in ICFF 2019, the design show that anchors New York Design Week - NYCxDesign – and is considered the largest North American showcase of the furniture industry. The initiative is organized by the Furniture Industry Association of Bento Gonçalves (Sindmóveis) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), with the support of the Brazilian Consulate General in New York.

The participation of the designers results from the previous supervision of the project management, who evaluates the individual export potential of each member and advise them according to the commercial strategy of the brand and the demands of the consumer market. This is the greatest participation of Brazilian designers in the event. A total of 19 studios will exhibit in a 350m² area their most conceptual and creative products, namely Alessandra Delgado, Aristeu Pires, estudiobola, Furf Design, Guilherme Wentz, Guto Indio da Costa, Holaria Porcelana, Jader Almeida, Konsepta, Larissa Batista, Latoog Design, Marta Manente, NDT Design, Noemi Saga, Plataforma 4, Ricardo Bello Dias, Sérgio Matos, Studio Vallvé and Wagner Archella.

Comprising approximately 700 exhibitors, ICFF is expected to receive more than 30,000 professionals, including interior designers, architects, retailers, sales representatives, distributors, facility managers, developers, manufacturers, visual merchandising and store designers. The Brazilian design will be represented by indoor and outdoor pieces of furniture and decorative objects. "ICFF 2019 is of extreme importance for the Raiz Project, since continuous participation is a determining factor for the success of an international project like this and most of the exhibitors have been with us for some years now, so they are  recognized and contacted directly by international buyers, showing the potential Brazil has in one of the largest furniture markets in the world,"  explains Ana Cristina Schneider, Coordinator of the Raiz Project.

Concurrently, some other initiatives aim to promote content filled with history and information about Brazilian design, such as the talks given by some designers carried out in partnership with Natura, located in the hip Soho neighborhood, which will take place again this year. "Other lectures are being planned with the intention of promoting this personal contact with our designers, who are always extremely welcome and attract the attention and interest of professionals and lovers of this universe, thus promoting the work of Brazilians," she says.

Partnership: Design under the Skin and Raiz Project

Products that use leather in their creation process will have a special space at ICFF. This material, combined with the innovation and creativity of Brazilian designer product, sets the tone for the Design under Skin Project (DNP), a sector-based program promoted by Brazilian Leather which establishes the contact between furniture companies, tanneries and renowned national designers.

This year, the initiative will have an unprecedented and unique feature in the world by promoting the partnership between three design studios members of the Raiz Project (estudiobola, Furf Design and Lattoog Design), three traditional tanneries (Luiz Fuga, Gobba Leather and Indústria de Peles Minuano) for the global leather furniture brand Natuzzi Editions, Italy, creating a collection of sofas, armchairs and tables called Natuzzi Editions Ginga by DNP. This resulted in innovative pieces that demonstrate the bold combination between design and leather, and established the material as an important coating for the furniture industry. For this purpose, the worldwide launch of the collection takes place during ICFF.

History of the Project

The Brazilian culture has achieved international recognition and the Brazilian design furniture has left its mark on the world's leading design circuits. This is the perception of Sindmóveis Bento Gonçalves, an association that has been developing the Brazilian furniture industry for 60 years, and Apex-Brasil, which encourages the generation of international business for designers through the Raiz Project.

The Raiz Project was set up as part of the Orchestra Brasil Project, which is carried out since 2006 focusing on the internationalization of the supply chain of the Brazilian furniture industry. The design segment introduced in 2012 was named Raiz Project in 2014 and became independent. The new brand expresses the sum of cultures that nurtures the national creativity under the supervision of Sindmóveis Bento Gonçalves. This association has invested in design as a competitive edge for the Brazilian furniture industry since 1988, with the establishment of the Salão Design Award. Later, in 2007, Sindmóveis set up Casa Brasil, a high-end furniture fair that as of 2016 has been held in São Paulo and became the anchor event of the Design Week of the city of São Paulo, High Design - Home & Office Expo.

Strategy

The strategic intelligence of the Raiz Project seeks opportunities on two fronts: the promotion of designers to include them in the licensing and distribution chains and the search for market niches through innovative processes and products, a fact that makes it possible to negotiate special projects and patent assignments; opportunities for exporting designer furniture, a partnership between designers and manufacturing companies. For a one-year period, the investment is U$$ 2 million and the initiatives for development and expansion will focus the United States and the United Kingdom. Currently, 48 design studios take part in the initiative.

Results

The geographical distribution of the international licensing agreements of the Raiz Project member companies focuses on North America and Europe and their main destination is Italy, followed by the US market. Regarding the performance of strategic actions, a total of 344 products developed by Brazilians are for sale in the international market. In addition, about 80% of the Raiz Project member companies have exported more than once in the last three years, while 48% have continuously exported   in the same period. Most studios with licensing agreements abroad sign up to two contracts a year, accounting for a 34% share of the total companies that take part in project. Moreover, 8% of companies have more than three international licensing agreements - a fact directly related to the strategic and personalized follow-up offered by the project.

International Schedule

The project schedule includes several international exhibitions. In the next two years, the following events are planned to be attended: Milan Design Week (April/2019 and 2020); ICFF New York (May/2019 and 2020); São Paulo Design Week (August/2019 and 2020); Prospecting during the London Design Week (September/2019) and Movelsul Brasil (March/2020). The traditional itinerant shows in Brazilian embassies will take place in Barcelona (June/2019) and Berlin (September/2019).

Raiz Project – ICFF 2019

http://www.raizproject.com/

Date: May 19 to 21

Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm; Monday and Tuesday, 10 am – 6 pm ; Wednesday, 10 am – 4 pm

Venue: Javits Center, New York

655 W. 34th St. (11th Avenue at 38th Street)