JEDDAH, South Africa —Mohammed O. Al Guthmi Sons Co., the largest wholesaler and retailer in the Middle East with 21 showrooms, 2,000 distribution points and $50 million in sales has launched its first export brands under the Cocoon and Murex label. The lines were shown at Heimtextil 2016 and will be shown again in Istanbul during Evteks and then at Heimtextil Russia. Al Guthmi has its headquarters in Jeddah with branches in Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman and all Gulf countries. “We had all of our eggs in one basket, says Ahmed Al Guthmi, Principal and “ now we are talking some of those eggs and putting them in new baskets,” he laughs. “In order to expand our business and add diversity to our clientele body, we decided to establish an export department,” says Ahmed Al Guthmi, Principal. The 75 new collections of sample books in two lines are produced in Jeddah with photography from Holland and USA. All collections are served both on cut and roll basis. The company’s motto is “no order is too big or too small for us to accommodate,” says Mohammed Al Guthmi, Marketing Director. Cocoon is the high end of the line in the $15-$80 per yard range while Murex is the mass-market line in the $15 and below range. Within five years, Cocoon and Murex lines are expected to produce substantial sales according to Volkan Bakdur Area Sales Director covering Far East and North African markets. The new lines feature plains, textures, jacquards, embroideries and prints in all price levels in polyester, poly blends with cotton, viscose and linens. There are 100 percent silks from India and China as well as velvets, satins and taffetas from Europe and Turkey. “The mix is 80 percent upholstery and 20 percent curtain fabric at this time,” Bakdur adds. Recently, Al Guthmi inked a deal with Mideast Sales Director Houssam Rayess to supply the Bentex contract line from Burlington Technologies which now has a showroom in Dubai. “We expect to build a business globally now beyond the Middle East with these two brands that will eventually be equal in size to the parent company,” Bakdur confirms.  He is based in Jeddah along with his colleagues Ibrahim Dedeoglu, Export Manager; M. Burkan Uzun, Area Sales Manager for Russia and Europe, originally from Adoksan Mills, Bursa and Mohammed Ahmed Alguthmi, 22 year-old Marketing Manager, Export Division. The other men are in their late 30’s. Ayse Dedeoglu, wife of Ibrahim Dedeoglu, designs the collections and catalogs. Originally, Bakdur, Dedeoglu and Uzun came from Bursa where they worked with Turkish mills. Now, they run the new business for Ahmed Al Guthmi, the Principal. Al Guthmi has a liaison office with a new showroom in Bursa in order to accommodate customers who buy directly from Turkish mills. Dedeoglu started with the company in the purchasing department of Al Guthmi. He was export manager at Elvin for 10 years and joined Al Guthmi in the Cocoon and Murex division last March 2015.