Bombril attempts to react to avoid structural difficulties

Bombril is a company undergoing restructuring that seeks, for years, to grow back faster to try to get out of the red. Next year, completes a decade of management under the leadership of founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ronaldo Ferreira Sampaio. He returned to the business in 2006, after the departure of Italian partners, led by Sergio Cragnotti.
The company tries to create, yet still live with problems of the past as old debt payments. At the same time, there are structural problems. One of these problems occurred at the end of last year. Bombril failed to meet the demand of retail sale of items called internally of "commodities" detergents, disinfectants and chlorine bleach, for example. Most of them priced below $ 5. "Demand was strong, and we can't answer everything in December. If we had stocks and logistics better prepared, we would have sold more, "said Mark Scaldelai, ceo of Bombril. Revenue showed slight fall of 0.6%, to $ 1.15 billion last year, when the market grew by 11%, according to Abipla (Industry Association).
The increase in the supply of basic items requires prepared production lines, larger area of storage and distribution capacity. "The product ' commodity ' is what is selling more, and we had to accelerate this production, but we need to restructure it. The new machines purchased to meet the production lines of Bombril were installed, but we had to accelerate the placement of equipment that make the most basic products. And all this change has had an impact on manufacturing, "said the Executive. Bombril still faced difficulties in logistics and distribution. "It was a structural problem. We saw that the best thing to do was get ready for 2015 ". A new shed 9,000 square meters will be built this year in Sao Bernardo do Campo (SP), the company's headquarters city, for 40% increase in storage capacity of products on site. Should be applied r $ 15 million in the project, with a total estimated investment of R $ 60 million in 2015.
Three outbreaks
The total amount invested last year was r $ 43 million, when the marketing budget was r $ 26 million. This year, the three outbreaks announced in 2013 continue, to try to put the company on course: increased sale through actions geared toward young consumer of the class C, annual renewal portfolio and improvement in infrastructure. Part of this results recovery strategy involves specific actions to increase sales. Bombril sense fall in the pace of sales of products of higher prices, the "nãocommodities", due to the reduction of disposable income for consumption.
The company has decided, from the second half of the year, selling "combos" of products, joining in a single package an item more basic, lower-priced, with another of greater value, and try vendêlos in promotional actions. "We have to do the commodity product ' pull ' the sale of nãocommodity '", says Scaldelai.
In 2014, the first year of the company's reorganization under the command of Scaldelai, the prejudice of Bombril was r $ 57.5 million. The previous year was r $ 154 million. The reduction of financial expenses helped, but the increase in operating expenses was greater than the expansion of the recipe. The last five annual reports of results show 43% increase in net revenues (increased from $ 800 million to Us $ 1.15 billion), average of 8.6% per annum. In this range, there was profit in just one year, r $ 30 million in 2010.