Sale does not come out and becomes a partner of Jequiti Coty

Jequiti, company that sells cosmetics door to door with Silvio Santos group, refused the purchase offers made by the French perfume maker Coty, but negotiations between the two companies ended the partnership. "We were friends," says Lásaro Grady Jr., Chief Executive of Jequiti. The Brazilian company has closed deals to fill some of the fragrances of Coty in the country and selling them exclusively through its network of consultants.
The idea is to have partnerships not only with the Coty, but with other international companies. The strategy, which Case Jr. calls "the democratization of luxury", will be enhanced in 2013. "We will bring major imported brands at affordable prices", says the Executive. The price of the product bottled in Brazil reaches cost half of the same item imported.
With the Coty, have already been closed contracts to sell perfumes signed by American singers Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Madonna. Jequiti pays royalties on the sale, which revolve around 6%. The colony Truth or Dares by Madonna was released in December and costs $ 139. The Eau de Parfum Christina Aguilera reached the catalogues in September for $ 150. At the same time, the Natura released his most expensive perfume, Natura Una Deo Parfum, priced at $ 149.
Perfumes, "splashes" (type of lighter fragrance) and deodorants represent 50% of Jequiti's revenue. The company also invests in national celebrities, like Adriane Galisteu, Claudia Leitte and Fábio Jr., to boost sales of the segment. The colony of Galisteu costs $ 69 and 100 thousand units sold in 21 days. The launch, in August, until now, were about 350 thousand requests, Carmo.
Jequiti's portfolio is produced by seven contractors. The design of a plant, announced by the company in 2009, can finally get out of the paper in February. Silvio Santos has already given the go ahead and set the town that will house the installation: Jundiaí (SP) or Osasco (where is the corporate office and distribution center, in greater São Paulo).
Unlike the original project, which provided an investment of r $ 100 million for the entire production, the factory should consume much smaller resources, since it will produce only part of the mix (just perfumes, "splashes" and deodorants). According to Case, the investment may be even less than $ 50 million.
The cosmetics company of Silvio Santos also studied have a distribution center (DC) in the State of Goiás, to serve the North and northeast regions. Today, Jequiti operates with a CD in Osasco, which was expanded in 2012. The area has increased from 8 thousand m2 to 18 thousand square meters.
After grow drastically in her early years-came to triple in size in 2009, Jequiti came with a growth of just 16% in 2011, half of what was expected, for $ 410 million. That year, the direct sales market was affected by the poor performance of Giants Natura and Avon, which had problems with the delivery of products. Case does not reveal numbers of 2012. It says only that growth disappoint again, but that operating results were better than in the previous year. "The year started out hard and was improving," he says.
In 2012, Jequiti has hired Barclays to seek a partner. The Coty and l ' Oréal came to make formal proposals, but Silvio Santos gave up on doing business and the Bank no longer has a mandate to sell. "He believes very much in the enterprise," says Carmel which calculates that the presenter of talk shows has invested $ 300 million in the Jequiti since October 2006, when the company was created.
Without a new shareholder, Jequiti seeks to increase its efficiency. He hired a company to renegotiate agreements with suppliers and put the factory on top of priorities. "Investment banks say they are the biggest company without factory in the world," says Case. In addition, the plan is, of course, sell more to win. Jequiti sells an average of 1.5 million units per month, a portfolio of 1,050 products. "Going forward, we will grow with productivity".
The Executive says that enters in 2013 "with your foot on the floor" and casts a growth around 15%. Jequiti will invest $ 20 million in research and development (P&D) and more than $ 30 million in communication, mainly in shares in Brazilian television system channel (SBT), where the brand is promoted on commercials and talk shows. The company has 190 thousand consultants and plans to end the year with more than 210 thousand.
Partnerships are a way found by the Jequiti to be more competitive. In addition to competing with names like Avon and Natura, which built their brands over more than four decades in Brazil, Jequiti dispute space with the new incoming direct selling market, like Eudora (of Body) and the Peruvian Baker. Not to mention other channels that have advanced in the sale of cosmetics, as the franchise (especially the Apothecary shops) and pharmacies.
After working in Natura and in Sanofi, Carmo, of 44 years, Jequiti assumed command of in 2008 and won the confidence of the head. In 2010, he also became Vice President of Silvio Santos group. Conversation with the presenter every day by phone and stays in his house, where they meet weekly. "He likes to know everything", says the Executive.
On behalf of the partnerships, the team of Coty in Brazil-about ten people-lives in the corridors of Jequiti. Asked whether the French company made new offers in 2012, Case replied: "the Coty makes the proposal". He claims that the Jequiti is no longer looking for a partner, but during the interview he repeated at least twice: "in business, never say never." If the friendship is going to give in marriage, only time will tell.