Cantê, the first Portuguese swimwear brand, was already set foot in the sand. Without fear of the pandemic, entrepreneurs Mariana Delgado and Rita Soares launched their new summer collection in the spring, even though the country was confined. But the desire of the Portuguese to return to the beach and on hot sunny days was greater than the spirit of remembrance and there were items sold.
Young creators are not used to anything, and therefore they are already preparing to launch new articles. In this period of health crisis, the online store was a premium vehicle for customers, but the brand had really reopened its commercial space in Kido, Lisbon.
Million sales
According to Rita Soares, this year’s collection strengthens the brand’s DNA, which is based on a philosophy of comfortable, happy, sunny, sandy and marine living, and where the theme of sustainability holds a prominent place. “In 2021, we tried to make these values appear more in pieces,” for example, a swimsuit made from lycra bags or recyclable bikini bags made from recycled fabrics. You see, Cantê works only with certified factories (all of them in Portuguese) and with environmentally conscious material suppliers. For now, the show is part of the women’s and children’s collection, but the men’s collection will be available soon.
Cantê, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, has overcome the challenges of confinement already registered in the country. Since the start of the pandemic, the Chiado store – a prominent showroom for the brand – has had to close doors for five months. However, Mariana Delgado reveals, sales increased by 10% in 2020, topping 1 million euros. A dash came from the internet. “People were so available to buy online, and they needed to believe that we were going to spend the summer and get back to normal. The bikinis were the hope,” he says.
The vast majority of digital store customers are Portuguese, but Kante takes orders from several foreign markets. As Rita Soares says, it has “sales in Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, the United States and Brazil”, among other destinations. This channel is equal to half the company’s sales volume.
For the current year, the business estimates are prudent. “2021 is not a year after the expectations are high,” says Rita Soares. It is even though Kante has already set foot in the sand, but she has been struggling with some delays in supplying fabrics and also products, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus that is starting to emerge, affecting the ready response of the partners.
From architecture to the beach
Kante (the popular intervention that means “I hope”, “I hope that everything passes!”) – will be able to say two young entrepreneurs, in 2011, after the finalists of the architecture course trip to Brazil, they decided that the best The use of artistic veins in making bikinis and beach accessories .. They did not regret it .. Business, which created 15 direct jobs, was always growing.
