Founded in 1967 and based in Guimarães, Josal manufactures table linen, kitchen textiles, bed linen and accessories in 100% linen, 100% cotton and linen-cotton blends, with a particular focus on embroidery. «From the fabric through to the finished product, we can do everything», says José João Sampaio, the company’s operations and customer relations manager, adding that Josal carries out «design, development, cutting, garment making, embroidery and packaging» in-house.
Although embroidery has been the company’s core business for more than five decades, the operations and customer relations manager explains that the production of its own collections began more than 30 years ago, with bed linen being the first product category developed.
Today, table and kitchen textiles account for the largest share of sales. «I would say it is cyclical. At this moment, table and kitchen textiles are the most significant segments, and these collections we have developed have been very well received and are in strong demand», says José João Sampaio, revealing that demand for table products with shapes different from the conventional rectangular or square formats «has been growing significantly». With two own brands, DecorLar and Laroitto, Josal combines these collections with its private label business, with the two activities currently contributing equally.
At this year’s edition of Guimarães Home Fashion Week, the first trade fair in which it has participated, the company sought to highlight the versatility of its offering, particularly in the application of embroidery. «We can apply embroidery to virtually everything we produce, although, of course, we can also manufacture products without embroidery», explains José João Sampaio.
Regarding the first contacts made during the event, José João Sampaio is pleased with the quality of the visitors received. On the first day alone, Josal welcomed around 20 visitors from markets including South Africa, Canada, the US, France, Australia and Spain, with «perhaps half showing potential interest and maybe five of them showing genuine interest». As for returning for the next edition, although he considers it «a good experience», José João Sampaio prefers to postpone the decision until the business opportunities generated by the fair become clearer.
Portugal remains the leading market
Despite its focus on internationalisation, Portugal continues to be the company’s largest market, accounting for more than half of its turnover. Its main export destinations include Spain, France, Australia and the US.
Regarding the US market and the introduction of tariffs, José João Sampaio says the company has not experienced any change in demand. «I do not think there has been any impact. It is also a relatively small market for us, so we probably have not felt what other companies may be experiencing», he says.
In terms of turnover, the company recorded «modest growth» in 2025 compared with the previous year, while 2026 is progressing «very much as expected», reveals José João Sampaio.
With a workforce of 13 employees, the operations and customer relations manager believes that market competitiveness remains the company’s main challenge. «The difficulties are the same as they have always been: the competition that continues to exist. Honestly, I do not think the market has changed that much for us from that perspective. It is still challenging, but a company that has been around for more than 50 years understands that markets are cyclical, with better periods and more difficult ones», he concludes.
