Cia de Marcas invests another US$ 23.5 million in 2011
Valor Econômico
After eight months of association with InBrands, fashion holding of the PCP Fund, Richards lives its greatest expansion since it was founded in 1974. The investments have quadrupled this year and they will keep at the level of R$ 40 million (US$ 23.5 million) in 2011. Blowing with the wind, CIA de Marcas, owner of Richards, Salinas and Bintang, foresees getting to 2015 with earnings at nearly R$ 1 billion (US$ 588 million). "I'm very excited to work with InBrands. It is made of young, well-prepared people. They are capitalized and they work fast. That gave me a new energy", said Ricardo Ferreira, founder of Richards and member of the Board of Directors of InBrands. "With the association, our expansion is happening faster", said Ferreira.
Richards, Salinas and Bintang are receiving annual investments of R$ 40 million (US$ 23.5 million) for the opening and improvement of stores. Only this year, 12 Richards and 10 Salinas stores were opened and improved. "Our historical average is of three to four units a year. For 2010 and 2011, the investment planned is of R$ 80 million (US$ 47.1 million)", says Carlos André de Laurentis, Managing Officer of the Cia de Marcas. Today, Richards has 45 own stores and 25 franchised units. Salinas has 30 units, most are franchises. "Our strategy for Richards is the opening of own stores. As regards Salinas, we will make a mix, but we will give more priority to our own units", says Laurentis.
With the opening of new points of sale, Cia de Marcas should end the year with an income of R$ 300 million (US$ 176.5 million), of which R$ 240 million (US$ 141.2 million) should come from Richards. In the next five years, the forecast is that Cia de Marcas reaches earnings of R$ 1 billion (US$ 588 million). The main brand will continue being Richards, representing R$ 700 million (US$ 411.8 million) of the total income of the group. With Cia de Marcas, the earnings of InBrands should be of R$ 540 million (US$ 317.7 million) this year.
Among the projects foreseen by Ferreira is the opening of Richards stores in Latin America and the increase in the exports of Salinas, which makes swimwear, as of 2012. "Before we put those projects into practice, we have to increase our domestic demand and manage to import fabrics and other materials in large quantities so as to gain scale and offer an affordable price", said Ferreira. He explains today there is no greater variety of products because the cost of special fabrics in Brazil is high and there isn't enough scale to import them.