Brazil news and archive

Brazil is the world's most expensive country to shop at Zara

Shopping at Zara is more expensive in Brazil than in any other country, reveals the fourth edition of an annual study by Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual. Titled “Zara Index”, the research takes the price of 12 Zara items across 44 countries, then converts local currencies to US dollars and compares them to the prices offered in the United...

Retail

Fashion sales grow in Brazil in December, says retail association

Despite the crisis, the month of December was positive for many Brazilian fashion retailers, according to the Brazilian Association of Textile Retail (ABVTEX, in the original acronym) which represents around 90 prominent fashion brands, including C&A, Zara, Hering, Forever 21, Dafiti Group, Netshoes and Marisa. A surprising 62 percent of ABVTEX’...

RetailFeatured

5 facts about e-commerce in Brazil international online retailers should know

Brazil may be in the middle of a major economic crisis, but that doesn’t mean foreign e-commerce companies should ignore the country. A new report by the Ecommerce Foundation about the Brazilian e-commerce landscape shows that buying products from international online shops is a habit for no less than 48 percent of Brazilian shoppers, of which 8...

ManagementFeatured

Amazon launches its fashion and athletic apparel marketplace in Brazil

Amazon has started selling fashion and athletic apparel in Brazil after five years trading in the Latin American country. The e-commerce giant started diversifying its Brazilian offer in October last year. Amazon Brazil announced Wednesday that it was starting to sell clothes, shoes, accessories, as well as sporting goods from hundreds of...

Culture

Brazilian prisoners get fashionable in couture project

Never mind running away -- these Brazilian prisoners prefer the fashion runway. The inmates of the Adriano Marrey penitentiary near Sao Paulo are part of a project using couture to help rehabilitate convicts and give them a chance to stitch together a new life. "Yarn and the crochet hook are my new weapons," said Honorato Bezerra, who has been...

CultureFeatured

Brazil's Candomble religion pushes back against intolerance

Rio de Janeiro - When Brazilian fashion designer Rogeria Ferreira was told to remove the turban she wears as a member of the African-inspired Candomble religion for an ID picture, she decided to fight back: the turban was her identity. "For many people, it's just a piece of cloth, or fashion," said Ferreira, 36. "But this turban represents my...

Fashion |BACKGROUND Featured

Havaianas: the flip-flops emblematic of Brazil -- corruption and all

You'd be hard pressed to find an item more representative of Brazil than Havaianas: those brand-name flip-flops adopted by just about every inhabitant, rich or poor, as well as tourists seduced by the beach vibe. Now the footwear find themselves linked with a more somber aspect of Brazil that has been grabbing headlines recently -- corruption....

Fashion Statistics Brazil

General data Population: 200.4 million Labor force: 109.8 million Unemployment rate: 9% GDP per capita (PPS): 11,208 dollars Domestic market value of the fashion industry: 49 billion dollars Total labor force in fashion: 33,000 Number of people employed in fashion: 1.7 million Fashion Companies Number of fashion companies: 33,000 Total annual...

Fashion

Inditex responds to labour-rights violations accusations

Mother company of Spanish retailer Zara, Inditex, has responded to the labour-right violations claims from recently published report from the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations Somo and Repórter Brasil. “With no connection with the Somo’s report, some of the Brazilian suppliers of Inditex are currently facing a labour inspection...

Fashion

Kim Kardashian launches fashion line in Brazil

Famously curvy reality show star Kim Kardashian launched a new line of clothing in Brazil on Monday, saying she hoped to win over women in a land where voluptuousness is often celebrated. Kardashian said at an event in Sao Paulo that her "simple and sexy" range of clothing aimed to reflect her own tastes and comprised clothes she would wear...

Fashion Featured

Zara fails to protect labourers from modern-day slavery practices

Despite Zara being one of best known and best selling fashion retailers in the Western hemisphere, the label has reportedly failed to protect its most vulnerable employees - the garment workers - from modern day slavery practises. According to the latest findings from Brazilian labour inspector, published by Repórter Brasil and the Centre for...

Fashion

Stella McCartney launches exclusive Brazil range

Stella McCartney on Wednesday launched an exclusive range for Brazilian consumers at Sao Paulo Fashion Week, saying she was targeting a "cool and sexy" market. "For me, Brazilian women are cool and sexy I have to say, and they are definitely aware when it comes to fashion," the 43-year-old designer said. "I think they're very much at the...