Courting the Poor, a Retailer Rises to No. 3 in Brazil

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

“Magazine Luiza has gone from being a relatively small department store chain to Brazil’s third-largest nonfood retailer in just over a decade. And it has done so by assiduously courting the poor. The company has also managed to weather the country’s notoriously volatile economy, turning a profit every year since 1992. Last year, when the economy shrank 0.2 percent, Magazine Luiza’s sales increased 30 percent. This year, with the economy bouncing back, Mrs. Rodrigues expects the chain’s sales to jump 56 percent, to 1.45 billion reais, or about $477 million.” Read full article here.

Source: The New York Times