Blog: Brazilian Bikinis, Swimsuits, Swimwear and Bathing Suits

Random thoughts, quotes, and tips that affect me on a personal and professional level.

It's in Greek! We were covered in Eleftheros Tipos, one of the highest circulating newspapers in Greece.

"...After eliminating hundreds of manufacturers imagine so many Chinese company's contacted me they are making swimwear for $2 a piece which I'm really not interested because I'm looking for top quality with high fashion flair so I'm really hoping that we can do it with your company. Its going to be my first own label swimwear collection I will need your expertise." - Nilufer Satorius

Haco's a company we use to outsource the production of labels and tags. They recently launched an "eco-friendly" line. The Nature Line uses natural materials such as cotton, bamboo, linen, wool and recycled polyester which don't harm the environment.

A full page was dedicated to our business in the April edition of "Gestão & Negócios."

It's hard to be precise on turnaround since it depends on factors such as the time of year and particular model requested. As you can imagine, it's not practical or cost efficient to stock every model in every size and in every color combination. On the other hand, models are produced to replenish our stock on a daily basis. Some take longer than others to become available since we depend on third party companies to supply accessories or work on bikinis that require crochet or macramé. I can assure you that we have one of the best turnarounds in the industry and most certainly in Brazil. You'll have troubles finding a company that provides the transparency and fanatical support we do. It's fair to say that most bikinis become available within 1-3 weeks maximum.

On October 30th, 2007, Brazil was confirmed to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Brazil won the football tournament a record five times. This is a great opportunity to plan for theme based bikinis as market demand for World Cup items will be enormous.

in addition to bikinis, we produce men's swimwear, boxers and speedo style sungas. Check these out.

We were named "TOP TEN WORLDIEST" BUSINESS by StartupNation among thousands of home-based entrepreneurs who entered the competition. This award received national attention and was mentioned in the WSJ and Money Central section of MSN.com.

Founded by Rich and Jeff Sloan, StartupNation provides entrepreneurial advice via a nationally syndicated radio program and through online content for entrepreneurs who want to start a business. The Sloan brothers are successful inventors, experienced entrepreneurs and authors of StartupNation: Open for Business (Doubleday). They appear frequently as small business experts on national television and in online and print media.

Here's the Press Release

Please call me anytime but if you're wondering what time it is when I answer the phone then click HERE

1) Monthly production capacity: 15,000 pieces with the ability to ramp up if demand spikes.

3) We outsource to a number of companies and individuals who are experts in a particular area. Many of these are ladies who specialize in crochet or producing hand-painted designs.

What's good for the environment is good for business. We sincerely believe that and over the next few months we'll be adopting ecologically sound business practices and sharing them with you. We'd love to here from you if you have any good ideas. Here are just a few we have in mind:

2) Produce an Eco friendly line with 100% natural materials that are even biodegradable

5) Publish energy consumption and plot graph of reduction, if any, made based on changes we make in the production process.

6) Share a percentage of revenue to support environmental causes. Ex - that support saving the Amazon Forrest.

These are just a few ideas. Please send us more. It won't be easy but we'll make a conscious effort and even strategic decision to implement, if not all, most of the above measures.

I believe business is personal so I suppose my life's an open book. Here's one of the proudest moments in my life. I'm sharing a video clip of my daughter Marianna meeting her baby sister Stephanie for the very first time. Stephanie was born on August 10th at 13:15. Warning: we're all quite moved to say the least.

Every August we publish our price list in USD and avoid increasing them for a period of 12 months. This can be risky since a fluctuating exchange rate with a downward trend (see chart above) can place our business at risk in terms of turning a profit and being able to provide bikinis at a competitive price. For instance, in August of 2006, we priced our 2007 bikini collection based on the exchange rate of 2.20 but unfortunately the USD depreciated by a staggering 17% against the Brazilian (Real) and is currently trading at 1.82. In fact, the dollar depreciated by almost 30% over the past 24 months. As we prepare to publish our 2008 prices, we’ll have to factor in a weaker dollar and hope to make it up to our clients by continuing to provide outstanding quality and fanatical support. As one client wrote, “we know you’re slightly more expensive, but we’re willing to pay a premium in exchange for peace-of-mind.”

I once read something funny about bloggers. The only one who reads them is the person writing them. I hope that's not the case and that you find some of the content helpful or relevant. No, we haven't been sleeping it's just that we've been busy designing 30 new glamorous bikinis for our 2008 bikini collection. We expect to launch them in August complete with press coverage, new catalogs and a fashion show. If you want to be the first to know when they become available, simply send me an email requesting that you want to be notified when the 08 collection launches.

Our fitness wear is superior to others in the market. We worked closely with a textile designer in an effort to improve on the current fabric. The results are as follows:

1) Tighter and more comfortable fit due to greater elasticity used allowing it to return to it's original form. This reduces the slack and saggy look. This is known in Brazil under the "power" brand to identify this type of fit.

2) Integrated hidrofile fabric maintains the fabric dryer for longer while at the same time allowing for easy transpiration. This falls under the category of "easy-care" meaning it is easy to wash and dry.

3) An increase in the percentage of poliamida allows for a softer and smoother fit. You can feel this when you squeeze the fabric. The altered composition provides more chest and bottom support.

4) Thermo comfort allows for the escape of heat, humidity and sweat away from the material.

5) You can wash them many times over and it will still hold the same color and stretch...I doubt that from cheap imports.

Our competitors like Rosset and Santa Constacia use less poliamida giving it a cheaper feel. The difference is obvious when you touch the two materials....ours is softer.

I recently came across an amazing website worth sharing. www.Kiva.org "Loans that change lives."

It's definitely worth visiting and contributing if you find the cause worthy - lending money to small businesses in developing countries.

Sometimes we get asked how to pronounce Mar Egeu. This should help: Mar - M as you’d pronounce "m" in mother and "ar" as you would sound off the letter "r." Mar is Portuguese for Ocean. Egeu - "E" as in egg, "ge" as in jet and "u" as in "you." Good Luck!

A gorgeous model wearing a Mar Egeu bikini appeared in the July 2006 issue of FHM, a widely circulated men's magazine.

Our sizing chart serves as a rough guide and has proven to be quite accurate with a return rate of about 3 percent. Bikinis contain Lycra which provide elasticity and therefore a more comfortable and flexible fit. The stretch component can add as much as 2-3 cm and therefore cross over from one size to another. Another thing to consider is that Brazilian producers don’t provide numeric measurements as detailed brands in the US - cups size, specific dimensions etc... We simply produce clothing with labels depicting the sizes as P, M, G or GG. The US equivalent of these sizes would be XS, S, M, and L. Sizes can vary from one manufacturer to another and even differ from model to model.

Our target launch for the 2007 Mar Egeu Bikini collection is Mid July with catalogs and digital images becoming available during the first week of August. We'll be incorporating several of your design suggestions. Thanks to all of you who have contributed.

Veja is Brazil's most popular weekly magazine and ranked 5th in the world in terms of circulation. It's the equivalent of Newsweek or Time in the United States. It has been reported by many in the fashion industry and media that Carolina Del Lama will be the next Gisele Bundchen of Brazil, one of the most recognized and respected super-models in the world.

More than half of female workers have already left or are seriously considering escaping conventional nine-to-five working in a bid to invent their own working patterns, according to a new report. Does this resonate with you? Click Here to read more about it.

My dear friend and business partner Nicolas Katsorchis appeared last Sunday in one of the most popular Brazilian newspapers, "Diario de Sao. Paulo."

Marianna (our baby daughter) sporting MarEgeu's baby line and celebrating her 5th month today.

A few days ago a potential partner said that, “we were too good to be true.” I didn’t know how to respond because the term expresses the skeptical view that something is so good that it defies belief and must have something wrong with it. In retrospect, I can only interpret it as being a compliment and testament to our great work.

Marketing Guru Seth Godin says, "If you can't state your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position." In seven words I was able to state that we offer, "Amazing Brazilian Bikinis Backed with Fanatical Support."

Brazilian-bikinis.net launches Mar Egeu’s highly anticipated 2006 bikini collection and offers fanatical support in an effort to help beginners fulfill their entrepreneurial aspirations to resell top notch brands from Brazil.

The 2006 swimwear collection consist of 37 creative models. Each bikini is unique and successfully captures the natural beauty and vibrant elements that make up Brazil. Designs include hand-painted birds from the Amazon, palm trees, exotic fruit and floral patterns.

The great thing about Mar Egeu’s new collection is that they offer a mix of skimpy tops and tie side bottoms along with fuller bikinis to satisfy a range of tastes. Mar Egeu’s 2006 collection derives its inspiration from Brazil’s diverse landscape, vast oceans and open blue sky. Each design blends a piece of “mother nature” and balances it with the beauty of a woman’s body. Reaction to the new collection has been phenomenal, with pre-orders coming from the United States, Europe and Australia.

Thales Panagides, founder of Brazilian-bikinis.net, in a bold statement says that, “Mar Egeu produces the best artisanal bikinis in the world. A tremendous amount of detail goes into each bikini and that’s what differentiates the MarEgeu brand from generic brands that simply differ on cut and pattern.” Panagides mentions the use of embellished accessories and details such as coconut shells, sea shells, wooden beads, straws, buttons, metallic rings, buckles, hand-painted designs, embroidered floral petals, and crochet. According to Panagides, “quality brands and our commitment to fanatical support” are the two reasons why Brazilian-bikinis.net has been successful in attracting new partners. Brazilian-bikinis.net offers a money-back guarantee on all bikinis that don’t meet the recipient’s expectations.

Besides offering access to premium brands from Brazil, Brazilian-bikinis.net hopes to secure new partners by offering one-to-one fanatical support. Panagides explains, “I think we’re the only company in Brazil that follows up with a telephone call to answer questions our customers may have.” This is just one of the many ways Brazilian-bikinis.net exceeds customer’s expectations. Partners can chat in real time with the founder and expect to have emails replied to within 24 hours or less.

Brazilian-bikinis.net caters to beginners. Panagides recounts when he received an email from a potential partner who didn’t know how to open an Excel spreadsheet attached to their email. Today, that same person is one of the largest wholesalers and an Internet expert. We realized that we had to make a dramatic impact and reduce the barriers to entry in order to attract new partners. For example, Brazilian-bikinis.net offers convenient payment options and doesn’t require a minimum order among other things.

Since then, we have made it our mission to empower timid entrepreneurs and provide them with successful selling tips that have worked for other distributors around the world.

Panagides added that, “We often receive requests from entrepreneurial men and women interested in opening an apparel store. Most clients include, but are not limited to, specialty boutiques, women’s clothing stores, e-commerce sites, high-end surf shops and tanning salons.”

I was interviewed by Gringoes.com, a web portal that provides information for the growing foreign community in Brazil. Click here to read the full interview.

I’m posting news about our forthcoming price increase in an effort to be transparent and clear on a sensitive matter.

1) The US dollar depreciating by 30% against the Brazilian currency (Real) since the 2005 price list was first introduced. As a result, exporters who priced their goods in dollars see their profit margins reduced substantially. The exchange rate hurt exporters so much that some have had to adjust their current 2005 prices by 10%, unprecedented but necessary.

2) The price of Lycra increased. This is hard to justify because suppliers of Lycra base their costs in dollars and one would think that a weak dollar would make Lycra cheaper but now that the Brazilian currency is strong, Lycra suppliers like Rosset, resist lowering their prices and if fact have increased them.

3) The minimum wage in Brazil has increased. It was passed into law and introduced this May. Most production line workers consist of minimum wage earners.

5) Value added accessories applied to each item (rivets, metallic rings, etc…) result in higher costs per bikini but these Artisanal details are what differentiates our line and should have a positive impact on sales.

This year we were able to maintain the same average price compared to the 2004 collection but it’s no longer viable for the reasons highlighted above. We want to remain as competitive as possible because if you don’t sell we don’t sell! We believe that we’re still an attractive alternative to other premium brands that wholesale for three to five times more than our brands.

I’d be concerned if it was an isolated case but it's across the board. We can't compete against the Chinese or Indians on price but we have a huge advantage over low cost producers, in addition to quality and creativity, all pieces are "Made in Brazil." This is a huge selling point, like saying, "Intel inside." That's music to Brazilian producers!

I'm finally back to blogging. My wife just delivered a baby girl by the name of Marianna. She was born on June 1 at 1:05am. She's our first. I'll try to post more often. Thanks for checking back once in awhile.

1) If the product doesn't have a "WOW" (gasp-worthy) impact on the consumer, then don't offer it through Brazilian-Bikinis.net.

7) Offer Fanatical Support - respond to emails within 10 hours and make the call.

Tom Peters said that, "A new factory goes on line in China every - 26 minutes!" That's probably an understatement. As Trendwatching notes, ""With the majority of most mundane products soon to come from China and other hyper-efficient, low-cost, economies-of-scale-obsessed 'workplaces of the world', manufacturers in developed economies will have little choice but to upgrade their output to premium, higher margin goods if they want to survive the looming Sea of Low-Cost Sameness."

...There's no denying that the economic impact of China on global businesses represents a threat for some companies but it's also an opportunity for others like Brazilian-bikinis.net. How can it be an opportunity, after all, we receive emails from potential buyers who compare our bikinis, fitness and lingerie line with those offered by Chinese suppliers for lower prices?

The answer's simple: If you dare compete on price you'll lose. You've got to offer a differentiated product backed by OUTSTANDING customer support. That doesn't mean that the Chinese can't do the same but there's more to a product than buying low. Click here to see what separates us from the pack. We're constantly improving and as the saying goes, "if you're through changing, you're through."

MarEgeu bikinis are commonly featured in popular fashion magazines and on national television.

...I believe it's more personal, that it adds credibility, and makes our company more trustworthy. It's always nice to know who you're dealing with thousands of miles away...and don't be surprised if I follow up with a personal phone call after receiving your enquiry for information about our sexy bikinis and hip fitness wear collection. Write to me at: thales@brazilian-bikinis.net

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