Arafa Holding looking to expand exports to the US -Bloomberg

Arafa Holding plans to expand sales to the US, supported by the drop in the EGP’s value, Ahmed Feteha and Tamim Elyan write for Bloomberg. Chairman Alaa Arafa says the American market was out of reach for his company prior to the flotation as the “currency was overvalued.” Arafa says “since the beginning of 2017, we have started rebuilding export markets lost in previous years … Before that we were thinking when will our business shut down; but now there is hope; now we can sit with clients and speak about the future.” The company is looking to expand its production to 6,500 suits per day in 2H2017, from 5,800 currently. Arafa says his company is also looking to introduce its Concrete brand in outlets in GCC countries by 2019. In Egypt, the company will introduce one of the brands it owns in the UK as part of a plan to aggressively target the middle income segments, he says. Read Armani's Egyptian Supplier Mulls U.S. Foray on Weaker EGP.