National sportswear brand closes shop at Praia de Belas Shopping
T&F confirmed to the column the decision to withdraw from Praia, but the mall did not comment on the exit from the operation.
The unit last worked on Tuesday (7). That night, mannequins and products began to be removed from the store, which was next to the Superlegal toy trade and close to the Decathlon megastore, all on the third floor.
Of the five branch employees, three were transferred to other units, says the note. Two were fired. The window is covered with paper, and a message was pasted on the glass by the enterprise’s management: “Coming soon, something new for you”.
The column questioned the direction of Praia about the departure of T&F. In a note, the venture speaks of “changes and relocations”, but without mentioning the clothing brand, which has units in several regions and which was founded, between factory and retail, at the end of the 1980s in São Paulo.
“We are going through changes and relocations, with many news coming around! Soon we will have our new Nike store, among other operations that will open soon. Everything will be informed at the right time”, says the official note. Regarding the definition of the brand, Praia says that “due to internal political issues, Iguatemi does not comment on the strategy of its tenants individually”.
“Iguatemi” is the group that owns the development and the other Iguatemi and I Fashion Outlet Novo Hamburgo.
Track&Field intends to open more units in RS
The sportswear brand clarified, in a note, that it has “an expansion strategy for Rio Grande do Sul, it is looking for additional points in Porto Alegre” and that “it has no plans at the moment for the Praia de Belas mall”.
Recently, T&F opened in the Capital “a store designed with the brand’s new layout and with 105.28 square meters at Rua Fabrício Pilar, 158, in the Mont’Serrat district, the largest in the region”.
“The focus (of the expansion) is on the Capital, but the opening of stores in other cities is not ruled out. Santa Maria, for example, already has a store (Shopping Praça Nova). street stores”, detailed about the strategy.
There are four more units in Porto Alegre (Iguatemi Porto Alegre, Moinhos Shopping, Bourbon Country and Academia Bodytech, Rua Silva Jardim, 375). Two more are at I Fashion Outlet Novo Hamburgo and Iguatemi, in Caxias do Sul.
The brand has capital on the stock exchange (B3) and had revenue of BRL 244 million in the first half of 2022 – the new balance sheet comes out this week. There are 310 stores, according to the brand’s website, of which 268 are franchises and 42 are owned, in 25 states.
Old operations leave and new brands enter
O Retail Minute toured the shopping mall to check news about new operations and the occupation of other spaces.
Attention was drawn to the arrival of a branch of the footwear chain Mezzo Porto, which opened on the third floor, near Kalunga. It’s MP Boutique, which has three more units in the Capital, in the Total, Bourbon Ipiranga and BarraShoppingSul malls.
On the second floor, close to the Livraria Saraiva and TokStok anchors, is the area with the highest concentration of unoccupied spaces located in the corridors close to the Madero and Pecorino restaurants.
Since 2022, the movement of brands leaving has intensified, many of which were there since the opening in 1991, at the same time that new ones arrive. The mall does not comment on details, but tenants alleged high contract values and failure to review conditions, location revisions and impacts of the pandemic.
Praia de Belas was greatly affected by changes in the routines of surrounding courts and corporate units, which began to adopt a mixed shift, with work in the office and at home. The flow to date has not returned to the pre-Covid period.
Among the acquisitions in 2022 are the branch of the Australian fashion flag Cotton On and 19 more operations, such as the Rio Grande do Sul Casa Maria and Bottero and national Giraffas and Reserva.
Reinforcements for this year include Pegada, in footwear, and Cheirin Bão coffee shop, Restora Phones Expert, for services for Apple equipment, and Bullguer hamburger. Lupo will expand the area it occupies. All information is passed on by the mall.
