Dubai
Italian sports equipment company Errea is confident of using Dubai as a base to carve a bigger market share in the Middle East and Asia in the near future.
Speaking to Gulf News after opening Errea’s first store outside Italy, Angelo Gandolfi, who founded the company in 1988 with its base in Torrile, said Dubai’s unique positioning as the ‘world’s new centre’ can help fulfil the aspirations of his company.
The exclusive store situated along the Dubai Airport road is a tie-up between H&H Pro Sport Equipment and Errea. Gandolfi was joined by Giovanni Favilli, Consul General of Italy, at the official opening late on Friday.
“Our strategy is to move one step at a time and for us opening this store in Dubai is the first step. Next we may move to Qatar due to the Fifa World Cup or it can be Bahrain. We are cautious as we do not want to be in haste. For us, Dubai is the new centre of the world and that is why we decided to be here. We also want use Dubai as a hub to look around at other parts of Middle East and Asia,” Gondolfi said.
“For the past 26 years our focus has been on the domestic market in Italy and then Europe, and it was this unique appeal of Dubai being such a vibrant and cosmopolitan centre that we decided to set up shop here,” he added.
In a market that already has top brands such as Nike, adidas and Reebok tussling for a better share of the spoils, Errea is confident of carving its own niche. “To start with, we are the first sportswear company to be accredited with the Oeko-tex standard that assures textiles are free from harmful chemicals. And unlike a lot of the multinational sportswear giants who prefer to outsource, Errea manufactures all of its products in Europe,” Gandolfi said.
Gandolfi said the company’s focus is on team-wear, especially amateur teams or teams in schools and colleges.
