A Americans, a famous chain of Brazilian retail stores, made headlines on the country’s main portals following the discovery of a BRL 43 billion shortfall. The hole is so big that, according to experts, it is unlikely to be reversed. Thus, the company must join other large companies that needed to leave the scene. Remember below some companies that went bankrupt or left the Brazilian market in recent years.
Ricardo Electro
A Ricardo Electro was once a retail giant, with over 1,200 stores, revenues of R$9.5 billion and 28,000 employees. The company began to face difficulties in 2015 and the situation got worse when the founder, Ricardo Nunes, left the company in 2019. In June 2020, Nunes was denounced on suspicion of evading BRL 86 million. The Justice of São Paulo then decreed the bankruptcy of the company. Today, with just 40 employees, current president Pedro Bianchi is trying to rebuild the company through its e-commerce.
Hey
A Hey was one of the biggest telephone companies in Brazil, but had its end decreed in 2020. Oi’s mobile telephony was sold to competitors, Tim, Vivo and Claro. However, it was only in 2022 that BTG Pactual acquired the fiber optic arm, InfraCo. In 2016, Oi had its BRL 65 billion judicial recovery plan approved, the largest then seen in Brazil, but the process is still full of impasses and twists.
Mercedes-Benz
A Mercedes-Benza famous luxury vehicle manufacturer, decided to close its car factory in Iracemápolis, in the interior of São Paulo, which opened in 2016. Not end of 2020, the company issued a statement citing the economic situation in Brazil, “which has been difficult for many years and has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic”, as well as a production adjustment due to the global semiconductor supply crisis. Mercedes-Benz was the only luxury car company to leave Brazil.
A Sony announced the closure of its commercial activities in Brazil in March 2021. Cameras, smartphones from the Xperia line, TVs and audio equipment are among the products that are no longer sold here. One of the reasons for the closure of the company in the country is the sales volume far below the main TV competitors, such as Samsung and LG. Currently, only PlayStation — the company’s consoles and games segment — continues to operate in the Brazilian market.
LG
A LG left the smartphone market scene and it wasn’t just in Brazil. The company decided to stop manufacturing cell phones due to fierce competition in the market, in addition to registering almost six years of financial losses. The company decided to focus on other business areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.
Cabify
A Cabifythe famous urban transport platform, announced the closure of its operations in Brazil on June 14, 2021. Competitor of Uber and 99, the company operated in the main urban centers of the country, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Santos and others. When it ended its operation in the country, the company cited the difficulty of growth generated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Will Lojas Americanas go bankrupt?
Lojas Americanas has not yet declared bankruptcy. With an attempt to reverse the current debt of BRL 43 billionthe company requested judicial recovery from the government, becoming the 4th largest in the country. Judicial recovery allows companies to renegotiate their debts, thus avoiding bankruptcy proceedings. However, with such a high debt, specialists believe that not even the negotiation facilities of a judicial reorganization are enough for the store to pay its debts. So, it is not possible to say whether Americanas will go bankrupt or not.
Lojas Americanas is one of the largest department store chains in Brazil, founded in 1929 by a group of American immigrants. Over the years, the company has invested heavily in modernizing its products and services in order to adapt to new trends and market demands. Today, there are more than 600 stores throughout Brazil.