Retail News CRM

Tag: flip flops

  • Havaianas parent’s sales surge as international strategy pays off

    Havaianas parent’s sales surge as international strategy pays off

    Alpargatas, the parent of Havaianas, is reaping the benefits of a three-year-old international expansion strategy, despite the impact of Covid on cross-border travel.

    In the year to December, Alpargatas recorded sales of  US$739 million, a 25.7-per-cent improvement in 2020. Outside its home market of Brazil, net revenue climbed 41.5 percent US$227 million.

    “The numbers are the result of a long-term strategy. Three years ago, we established that Alpargatas’ long-term value creation thesis would be based on leveraging the strength of desired and hyper-connected brands such as Havaianas,” said CEO Beto Funari.

    “In this short period, we have proved this thesis as we accelerate the brand’s growth and restructure the business portfolio.”

    The company sold a record 260 million pairs of flip-flops, up 13 percent year on year. Of those, 31 million pairs were sold outside Brazil, an improvement of 38.8 percent versus 2020.

    Funari also said the company’s growing portfolio of non-flip flop products – sandals, flats, sneakers, accessories, and apparel – increased by more than 200 percent during the period.

    In December, Alpargatas secured a deal to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in Californian sustainable footwear brand Rothy’s. Now it is planning a share issue to help fund the acquisition, expected to raise around $400 million.

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  • Havaianas invests $US50 million in Asian expansion plan

    Havaianas invests $US50 million in Asian expansion plan

    Undeterred by the advent of Covid-19, Brazilian flip-flop brand Havaianas is investing US$50 million into the expansion of its retail footprint across Asia-Pacific between now and 2024.

    Havaianas – which sells about 1 million pairs of footwear a day worldwide – was until 2017 represented by a small group of licensed distributors in Asia, overseen by an export manager in Brazil who also had responsibility for Africa, South America, and the Middle East. However, in 2018 the company opened a regional office in Hong Kong and appointed an Asia regional president, experienced retailer Robert Esser, to build a team managing expansion from Greater China down to Australia and New Zealand.

    Esser has since built a team of around 30 staff and opened a sub-office in Mainland China to accelerate the push there.

    New distributors have been appointed in multiple markets and the network has since grown from 35 to about 135 stores, augmented by another 25 or so short-term pop-up stores in regional areas where cold winter weather is not conducive to wearing flip flops all year round. Flagships have opened in Manila in the Philippines, and at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach in Australia, and the brand has established virtual stores on Chinese marketplaces including JD and Tmall.

    “In Asia Pacific today, our biggest potential markets are China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia,” explains Esser. “We now plan to reach more local consumers and deliver a change in the way they perceive and wear flip-flops. Havaianas wants to enchant Asian consumers and build a strong emotional connection and affective memory, occupying a unique space where attributes like functionality, style, and accessibility meet.”

    Esser believes the expansion reflects a great opportunity to introduce consumers to “a whole new concept in flip-flops”: not just functional footwear, but a combination of comfort and style and “a true fashion accessory”.

    “Apac is diverse but consumers are looking for authenticity, high quality, and fashionable products so Havaianas can be perfect for them,” said Esser.

    With Covid-19 leading to the closure of many of Havaianas and its partners’ stores across Asia for varying amounts of time, the company invested “disproportionately” into online channels, he says, setting out to achieve “find-ability and visibility”.

    “We set up stronger social-commerce platforms and built a relevant influencer strategy with local brand ambassadors, like Luna Maya in Indonesia and Nelydia Nik Sen in Malaysia. This has already delivered promising results with online business growing three-fold during the first quarter and six-fold during April.”

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  • Brazilian Flip Flops Brand Enters Suzhou Jiuguang

    Brazilian Flip Flops Brand Enters Suzhou Jiuguang

    Brazil’s well-known flip flops brand Ipanema opened a new store in Jiuguang Department Store, Suzhou, which is reportedly Ipanema’s seventh store in the city.

    Established in 2001, Ipanema provides four major series of products, including women’s products, men’s products, children’s products, and brand-partnered products; and its product lines cover flip flops, sandals, and slippers.

    The company started expanding into international markets in 2003 and over the following ten years, Ipanema became a popular high-end sandals brand in over 90 countries with its unique designs and comfortable products.

    Ipanema’s sandals are mainly made from PVC materials and processed with a special soft rubber compound technology.

    At the same time, 99% of its materials are claimed to be recyclable, which meets the environmental standard of developed countries. The brand will launch new products each season and about 400 new products are available annually.

    Ipanema’s manufacturer is the large sandals maker Grendene. Grendene was founded in Farroupilha in 1971 and it currently has 13 large factories and over 30,000 employees.

    The company is a large group enterprise which integrates material production, abrasives development, design, and brand management.

    At present, Ipanema products are well received in countries like United States, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, India, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Paraguay, and Mexico.

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