Via (retailer)

Via,[1] formerly Via Varejo, is a Brazilian retail company founded in 2010 through the merger of retail companies Casas Bahia, owned by the Klein family, and Ponto, owned by Grupo Pão de Açúcar. Since June 2019, the Klein family owns a controlling stake in Via Varejo.[4]

Via S.A.
Via
TypeSociedade Anónima
B3: VIIA3
Ibovespa Component
IndustryRetail
Founded2010
Headquarters
São Caetano do Sul
,
Brazil
Number of locations
1073
Area served
Brazil
Key people
Roberto Fulcherberguer, (Chairman) [1]
Raphael Oscar Klein, (CEO)
RevenueIncrease R$ 29.8 billion (2019)[2]
Decrease R$ (479) million (2019)[2]
Number of employees
52,168 (2016)[3]
SubsidiariesBartira
Casas Bahia
Cnova Brazil
Extra
Ponto Frio
Websitewww.viavarejo.com.br

History

In December 2009, Grupo Pão de Açúcar purchased Casas Bahia and transferred its retail units to Globex Utilidades SA, Ponto Frio's parent company which was purchased by the group in June earlier that year.[5]

The company operates retail online through its subsidiary Nova Pontocom, an e-commerce company that was born in 2010 by the merger of the online operations of Casas Bahia, Ponto Frio, and Extra, a hypermarket chain owned by Grupo Pão de Açúcar. Nova Pontocom holds 18% of the market share in Brazilian online retail.[6]

In early 2012, Globex Utilidades officially changed its corporate name to Via Varejo.[7]

In May 2013, it was announced that the Klein family is planning to sell as much as R$ 2 billion (16%) worth of their stake in the company through an IPO.[8][9] 53.7 million common shares of the family's stake began trading on December 16, 2013.[10] Via Varejo raised R$ 2.845 billion through a public offering of shares. Three quarters of the amount raised went to the Klein family, while the rest went to GPA.[11] Ownership of the company has changed to GPA with 43.3%, the Klein family with 27.3%, and minority shareholders with 29.3%.[12]

In October 2013, it was announced that Via Varejo will acquire the remaining 75% stake of Móveis Bartira, an exclusive provider of furniture for Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio, founded by Samuel Klein in 1962.[13][14]

In June 2014, Cnova Brazil, a global e-commerce company with a total gross merchandise volume of $4.9 billion, was created through a joint venture between Casino, GPA, Via Varejo and Exito. Cnova Brazil will be directly owned 46.5% by Casino (including its subsidiary Exito) and 53.5% indirectly by GPA, Via Varejo and certain founding shareholders of Nova Pontocom.[15][16]

In June 2019, it was announced that the Klein family became the largest shareholder of Via Varejo with a 27% stake, after GPA sold its entire stake.[4]

Operations

Via Varejo holds a 21.9% stake in Cnova Brazil,[12] which owns and operates the following online stores: Extra.com.br, Casasbahia.com.br, Pontofrio.com.[17]

As of July 2020, the company has 1073 stores in Brazil, distributed under the brands Casas Bahia with 857 stores and Ponto Frio with 216 stores. The state with the largest number of Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio stores is São Paulo, with 358 and 59 stores respectively.[18]

References
  1. "Via Varejo anuncia mudança de nome e aquisição de fintech". Exame (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-04-26. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  2. "Interactive Results". Via Varejo. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  3. "Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results", Via Varejo. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  4. Bautzer, Tatiana & Mandl, Carolina (14 June 2019). "Control of Brazil retailer Via Varejo shifts to Klein family from GPA". Reuters. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  5. Marcelino, Francisco & Fontana, Camila (4 December 2009). "Pao De Acucar Agrees to Buy Casas Bahia; Shares Jump". Bloomberg. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. "Taqtile Signs Leading Brazilian Retailer as Mobile Platform Customer". PR Newswire. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. "Globex planeja adotar nome "Via Varejo"" Archived December 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Brasil Econômico. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  8. Brandimarte, Walter (13 May 2013). "Big holder plans to sell nearly $1 billion of Via Varejo stake". Reuters. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  9. "Brazil's Klein family to sell up to 16 pct stake in Via Varejo". Reuters. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  10. "Brazil's Pao de Acucar, Klein family to sell Via Varejo shares". Reuters. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  11. "Ações da Via Varejo estreiam em alta na Bovespa". UOL (São Paulo). 16 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  12. "Corporate Governance". Via Varejo. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. "Via Varejo pode comprar Móveis Bartira" Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Meio & Mensagem. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  14. Bezerra, Paula (17 October 2013). "Via Varejo pode ficar com Móveis Bartira, dos Klein ". Exame. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  15. "Casino Guichard Perrachon sets up with Via Varejo global ecommerce joint venture Cnova". Reuters. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  16. "Casino Group: Creation of a major global ecommerce - Cnova". GlobeNewswire. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  17. "Our Websites". Cnova. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  18. "Our Stores", Via Varejo. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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