Riachuelo breaks divide between popular fashion and luxury

SAO PAULO-the dividing line between luxury brands and popular networks sets for quick consumption will disappear on Oscar Freire, one of the most sophisticated shopping streets of the country. The retail chain Riachuelo will inaugurate a unit at the site in November. The decision is part of a project of sophistication of brand that serves a very clear economic goal: doubling the number of stores and triple the recipe for $ 10 billion by 2016.
To convince consumers that Riachuelo is also synonymous with glamour, the company will increase the bet lines signed by famous stylists in 2014. The experiences of recent years with names like Oskar Metsavaht, Clô Orozco and Chris Barros showed that the public want to consume products that Guararapes Group get bolder fashion trends. The arrival at Oscar Freire will coincide with the release of five signed lines that will be distributed across the network.
The goal of growing and, at the same time, have a more premium perception in the eyes of the consumer, not just by the sophistication of the products. According to the President of the Riachuelo, Flavio Rocha, a vital part of the work is not only open stores, but also occupy certain spaces. That is why, at the beginning of 2014, the company will inaugurate another store? symbol?, a six-story building on Paulista Avenue, on the corner with Haddock Lobo. Together, the units of the Paulista and Oscar Freire will consume $ 20 million and will cost at least two-thirds more than a standard point of sale.
To reach the goal of doubling the number of stores by 2016, to 330 units, the Riachuelo is putting your foot on the gas from this year. Will be 41 inaugurations throughout 2013, for a total of 210 selling points at the end of December. To get there, rock is tuned to the spaces that arise in shopping malls. Before Christmas, the company will open a unit of women's clothing-the Riachuelo-Woman in Shopping Eldorado in São Paulo, where the rivals Renner, C&A and Zara are already present in years.
Refined x popular
A? blend? popular brands of the luxury brands is already very common abroad. The most expensive commercial rent is paid by the clothing Forever 21, which occupies the building that was formerly of Virgin Records, in Times Square in New York. The Oscar Freire is following this trend, according to Rosangela Lyra, President of the Association of Tenants of the gardens. She recalls that networks like Chili Beans (glasses) and Arezzo (footwear) already have concept stores on site. The Chocolaterie Kopenhagen will open a similar space soon.
Fashion specialist, Marie-Oceane Gazurek, Trojan group Branding, says that the rapprochement between luxury and fast fashion reflects an evolution in the perception of the Brazilian consumer. On the other hand, the most popular layers lost? fear? most beautiful shops and organized. On the other hand, the classes of higher purchasing power realised that wear brands from head to toe is not necessarily synonymous with elegance. ?In France, it is common for a woman wearing a Louis Vuitton purse into the H&M (Swedish low-cost network) to buy an item. The two things can coexist very well.?
For the sophistication of the Riachuelo don't just in the speech, the President of the company knows that the care with the quality needs to be understood also outside of Oscar Freire. ?Let's improve the common product of the Riachuelo, but without increasing the price?, says the Manager. ?We have made that mistake in the past, after some partnerships with designers. Today we know how our audience is willing to pay?
In relation to shops, the Riachuelo claims to have, between openings and reforms, 60 points of sale considered premium-one of them is the unity of Frei Caneca Shopping Mall, in São Paulo. The new concept has changed and the arrangement of lighting products. Now, the company is working to the consumer the impression that the clothes of the Riachuelo are no longer produced in series. So, has developed a system that dramatically reduced the number of pieces displayed in stores.
Until recently, the Riachuelo was sending 36 units of each piece to retail; Today, managed to reduce the amount to up to four units per item. The measure helps reduce strandings and improves sales per square metre of sale, since parts not fell in taste of the customers fail to take up space in the store. Today, 40% of the network is supplied daily by trucks from Guararapes Group, which has its own carrier. The goal is that all units are met at the same speed until the end of next year.
Quick change
Spare speed will have to be accompanied by changes in the manufacturing process, according to Flavio Rocha. Today, 85% of everything sold in Riachuelo comes out of factories of Guararapes in Fortaleza and Natal. The company produces 35 thousand different models per year. ?She's a damn sight better than Zara, which makes 20 thousand pieces?, says the President of Riachuelo, in reference to the Spanish network. As you will need to further speed up this process, the Riachuelo works, along with the Sebrae, in creating 360 small confections in Rio Grande do Norte, which provide exclusively for the company.
Despite the presence of international networks still be shy at Brazil, rarely a quarter goes on without a big key unit flag in the country. That's why Rock says that the goal of doubling the number of stores will be maintained, despite weaker growth projections for the economy. ?The market will not grow as much, but my market share is still small. I want to grow up this way?, he says. The information is from the newspaper O Estado de s. Paulo.