Wave of acquisitions boosts Americanas’ Black Friday in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After a 2-year period in which Brazilians have greatly matured when it comes to online shopping, e-commerce platforms have prepared big announcements for Black Friday.

It is a time when retailers try to draw the spotlight: Casas Bahia opened a mega-store in São Paulo, Mercado Libre opened a distribution center for home appliances, and Magalu announced its move into the gaming world.

With no specific “bombshell” announcement, Americanas (AMER3) will reach Black Friday 2021 with more to offer, as it will feature within its platform products from brands such as Natural da Terra, Puket and Imaginarium, part of the group’s recent acquisition strategy.

One of the main novelties planned for the date – a cargo plane bearing the Americanas logo, responsible for supplying the Northeast region more rapidly – was deferred, but the company is investing heavily in live streams, just like its competitors: while Magalu will feature Luciano Huck and Anitta, Americanas has recruited BBB 21 winner Juliette and influencer Felipe Neto. It will also raffle 250 pairs of Rock in Rio tickets – a “lottery” for its nearly 50 million clients.

Although there are product offerings from the group’s new brands, it is not yet a complete integration. “Natural da Terra, with its health and recurrent appeal, has entered the Americanas platform,” says the group’s chief digital officer Marcio Cruz.

But it is not an integration of systems and processes: it is as if Natural da Terra were one more store inside the marketplace (a kind of virtual shopping). This model will also apply to other acquired brands.

NEW PHASE

Although Americanas may not have major news on Black Friday, it has been in the headlines several times this year. In April, the Lojas Americanas physical chain joined B2W (of Americanas.com and Submarino, among other brands) in the search for synergies and other operational gains.

Concurrently, the group acquired 10 companies in approximately 2 years, such as Natural da Terra and Uni.co (of Imaginarium and Puket), and partnered with BR Mania stores.

A little over 6 months ago, by merging the physical and virtual operations, the group declared it has 1,700 physical stores in 750 cities and a marketplace with over 87,000 sellers. There are now 3,500 stores in 800 cities with 114,000 sellers on the platform.

“This was a bold and major move, and this integration, which is nothing trivial, is the priority,” says Gouvêa Ecosystem retail consultancy’s operations director Eduardo Yamashita.

According to Cruz, the plan is to guarantee that the physical operation will help Americanas to grow online – and vice-versa. Store salespeople are offering discounts to customers willing to download the chain’s app.

As a result, daily views of the offers increased 30% in the first 15 days of November, against the first 15 days of October. The reach was greater than the increase in traditional pre-Black Friday searches. As a result, products traditionally sold in stores also grew on the Internet. “We began to sell items such as chocolates, diapers, and cleaning products online,” the executive says.

The points of sale became “mini” distribution centers. “About 80% of customers are within a 7 km radius of physical stores,” Cruz adds. “We are able to deliver within 3 hours to most customers. It’s a great competitive differentiator.” The chain’s recently launched new app is selling 5% more than the previous version, according to the chief executive officer of Americanas’ digital area.

The company has also achieved better results from initiatives such as the “Single’s Day” live, a traditional sales date in China that is starting to gain relevance in Brazil: this year’s online event posted a 140% increase in sales compared to 2020.

IMPACT ON BALANCE

Some of the effects of this change were reflected in the third quarter results. Total sales grew 24%, for instance. “We remain positive with the offline and online integration and the ecosystem development,” wrote Citi analysts João Pedro Soares and Felipe Reboredo.

Last month, a change in control disentangled Americanas’ corporate structure and allowed it to advance its plan to go public in the U.S., relocating the business’ domicile to American soil.

This reorganization will mean that, after 40 years, the investor trio Jorge Paulo Lemann, Beto Sicupira, and Marcel Telles will no longer control the company.

The financial market reacted positively to the change at the time of the announcement, contributing to a rise in the company’s shares. “Americanas is getting rid of major business ties to give scale to its ecosystem and digital platforms,” explains Varese Retail partner Alberto Serrentino.

“All the moves announced for Black Friday, by Americanas or its competitors, are important, but the impact is more strategic and long-term than tied to any specific date.”

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