Magazine Luiza opens stores in September
Valor Econômico 08/15/2008
Magazine Luiza, so far known as a chain of retailers of electronic equipment and furniture of the interior of São Paulo, has put up a daring strategy, never tested by a retailer before, to enter São Paulo capital, the largest consuming market of the country. The chain will open from 50 to 55 stores, in several regions of the city and neighboring cities, such as Poá and Guarulhos, at the same time. Valor discovered that the date expected for the inauguration is September 13, a Saturday. The day, however, is kept under strict secrecy by Magazine Luiza and the chain's advertising agency, Etco Ogilvy. When Magazine Luiza was questioned it answered it does not provide any information on the opening of the stores in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. Two of them, at least, will be located in shopping malls. As Valor anticipated, one of them is the Aricanduva Shopping Mall. The chain will also open a store at the International Shopping Mall of Guarulhos. In several places that were or continue under work, fences show that there will be a new Magazine Luiza unit. Many of these addresses - at least 25 - used to belong to Kolumbus, whose points are at the hands of Magazine Luiza since last year. While keeping the secret on the opening date of the stores, Magazine Luiza intends to make it difficult for it rivals to react. Greetings, however, is something the retailer will not receive from its rivals for they are already preparing the counterstrike. "If they keep a secret about the inauguration of the units, why would we reveal what our strategy will be", affirms Michael Klein, main officer of Casas Bahia. Asked if he knew how many Magazine Luiza stores will be close to his, Klein answers quickly: "All". To start operating in the capital certainly has a symbolic character for Magazine Luiza since it ceases being a chain of the interior. More than that, however, the inauguration of more than 50 stores will allow the retailer to take a major leap in sales and gain structure to open the capital. The sale of shares in the stock market, as well as the arrival to São Paulo, is a project sought for some years by the controllers of Magazine Luiza, the Trajano family, from Franca (SP). In 2007, the chain sold R$ 2.4 billion (US$ 1.24 billion) with 391 stores. As it enters São Paulo, the retailer now heads towards the mark of 500 stores and will get much closer to the store holding the second place, Ponto Frio, which sold R$ 4.2 billion (US$ 2.18 billion) last year.