Brazil: Mundo Verde chain wants to open 50 stores in Portugal
[ 2007-11-20
]
Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20 Nov – The Brazilian chain of store Mundo Verde, specialized in natural, organic and wellbeing products, plans to open 50 stores in Portugal over the next ten years, Jorge Eduardo Antunes, the partner-director and one of the founders of the company told newspaper Valor Económico.
Headquartered in Petrópolis, in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro state, Mundo Verde has become the largest segment in Latin America, with 114 franchised stores, and the first store in Portugal is due to open in the city of Porto.
The franchising model outside Brazil will cover the export of 60 percent of products –a round 2,000 articles from 200 Brazilian suppliers – in association with the foreign trade company Organic Life and the remainder will be acquired in the local market.
Growth outside Brazil began last year, with the launch of a franchise in Luanda, the capital of Angola, where a second unit is due to open in April 2008.
Turnover in Angola is increasing rapidly, from 12 percent a month, with success in Angola being attributed to an increasingly wealthy section of the population.
“Our plan is to enter a new country every year,” Antunes said, adding that he was in advanced talks to enter the US market, by opening a store in California.
Mundo Verde, which was initially a family-owned venture was founded 20 years ago by Antunes together with his sister, Isabel Antunes, and his brother in law, Elísio Joffe, with small store in Petrópolis, setting up a franchise system to grow in 1993.
The brand is present in 11 states of all regions of Brazil and in the Federal District and has 76 franchises in the state of Rio de Janeiro and should have turnover this year of around 60 million reais. (macauhub)
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