Arezzo provides operational improvement in 2013

Passed the spending phase to structure the Schutz brand shopping area, the manufacturer and retailer of footwear Arezzo may regain its operating profitability. The company President, Alexandre Birman, projected Ebitda margin expansion in 2013, after the contraction of the indicator last year.
For the businessman, growth this year will make it to Arezzo dilution of their expenses, resulting in winnings from the operating leverage. In total, the Arezzo will open three stores 53 flags (Arezzo, Schutz and Anacapri), most franchises, until December. Today there are 398 units, in addition to the virtual store.
The expansion of Schutz, second in importance to the Arezzo, was accelerated last year, with the opening of 11 stores and 22 franchises, totaling 50 units at the end of the year. In the period, the Ebitda margin fell from 17.3% to 15.8%.
According to Birman, Ebitda margin pressure has begun to sag in the last three months of the year, when the indicator advanced 0.6 percentage point from a year earlier.
The Arezzo reported yesterday net gain of $ 31.7 million in the fourth quarter, up 17.7% over the same period last year. Net revenues rose 27% to r $ 252,8 million, pulled by a growth of 13.1% in sales of franchises with more than one year of operation ("same store").
In the units themselves, the same-store "sales rose by only 0.6%. According to Birman, the phenomenon occurred because many shops of Samuel were opened at the end of 2011 with initial sales surprising performance, making the basis for comparison. In addition, said Birman, the stores of Arezzo and Anacapri are already quite mature, with less room for growth of sales per square meter.
For 36 years, Birman took command of Arezzo this week in place of his father, Anderson Birman, who went on to devote himself exclusively to the Board of Directors.
According to Birman (the son), the change in management was not just to satisfy the requirement that the Presidency and the Executive command are occupied by different people, in regulation of the new market. "It may seem romantic, but the process that led me to the Presidency of Arezzo started when I was born," he said.
Creator of trademark Schutz in 1995, and designer Alexandre Birman, businessman accompanied, since small, the foundation of Arezzo, in Belo Horizonte. "My child's hobby was riding shoe box."
Before assuming the Presidency of Arezzo, Birman was Executive Officer of the company's operations since 2007. He does not expect major changes in the conduct of business from now on. Ahead of the Council, your father will take care of Arezzo's growth strategy in the long term, including evaluating acquisitions. "It's a subject that never failed to be present in the company," he said.
For the year, net income was R $ Arezzo 96.9 million, up 5.7% compared to 2011. In the same comparison, revenue increased 26.7%, to R $ 860,3 million.