Italian businessman Maurizio Borletti (photo), owner of three large European luxury chains – the French Printemps, the Italian Rinascente and the German Karstadt – met with Brazilian textile business owners on April 7 at ABIT headquarters. He came to Brazil to participate in the Fashion Marketing event held 8 and 9 in São Paulo.
Before meeting with the business owners, Borletti talked with journalists and said the Brazilian consumer is a strategic public for the most glamorous and expensive chain of the group: Printemps.
He said Brazilian consumption is the fastest growing, only trailing Russian demand. Nevertheless, he does not intend to bring business to Brazil. “The store concept would not work here, and the import duties are too high,” he claimed.
Forty thousand people visit the 17 Printemps stores every day. In 2007, Brazilians spent 44% more than the previous year.
“The average shopping bill for a Brazilian at Printemps is 700 Euros. But, different from the Russian, the Brazilian has a culture of luxury brands. They know more, whereas Russian expenses are concentrated on a few brands.”
Maurizio Borletti also said that, when traveling, he always has his eyes open for new products that could be sold at Printemps. “However, it's not my decision. I have a purchasing team for that and I trust them,” he said
Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association
marketing@alchempro.com
