The Brazil-based footwear and accessories conglomerate registered full year 2021 adjusted net revenue of 2.93 billion Brazilian reais (approximately $575.7 million), up 81.3 percent year-on-year. Adjusted net income grew year-on-year by 208.4 percent to 269.2 million reais.
This places the retailer’s performance well above pre-pandemic levels when net revenue reached 1.67 billion reais. The conglomerate’s e-commerce sales grew 55 percent year-on-year and now make up 25 percent of total sales.
Arezzo’s US operations outperformed other markets, posting record-setting revenue of 347.5 million reais, up 72.8 percent year-on-year.
According to the company, its performance was driven by the strong sales in all the group’s brands and the acceleration in sales of physical channels, which registered growth, both in sell-out and in sell-in. Moreover, 2021 was the first year in which AR&CO, the company’s lifestyle arm, was completely integrated into the group. It constituted 28 percent of Arezzo & Co’s gross revenue.
However, the balance sheet was negatively impacted by the increase in financial expenses, resulting from higher leverage and higher expenses with credit card fees, which grew in proportion to the increase in sales.
“Our multi-channel, multi-brand and multi-category strategy is working extremely well. I’m comfortable that despite all the global challenges of 2022 it will still be a great year,” Arezzo & Co chief executive Alexandre Birman told BoF.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, the company registered adjusted net revenue of 1.1 billion reais representing 69.6 percent growth from the same period in 2020. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 51.6 percent, totalling 175.2 million, representing the company’s best EBITDA in a single quarter.
Arezzo owns shoe brands Arezzo, Schutz, Anacapri, Alexandre Birman, Fiever, Alme, a distribution license for Vans in Brazil, and the ZZ Mall market. In 2020 the company purchased Reserva Group, a clothing retailer and group of apparel brands and 75 percent of Troc, an online luxury clothing resale site; both were incorporated in to the company’s lifestyle division AR&CO, as well as Brazilian streetwear brand BAW and womenswear label Carol Bassi in June and December of last year, respectively.
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Brazilian Footwear Giant Arezzo & Co Acquires Carol Bassi
Leading Brazilian footwear and accessories conglomerate Arezzo & Co has purchased Brazilian high-end womenswear brand Carol Bassi, for 180 million reais ($32 million).
