The pandemic in Brazil hit the country really hard. And most of the traditional commerce had to close their stores. For Magalu
specifically. We actually did really well because we started e-commerce very early in Brazil in 2000. I
start the business twenty one years ago the e-commerce part of the business. And we managed to grow 60 percent. Even with all
these stores closed last year it is still growing a lot this year. But as the Brazilian citizen seeing so many other
business not doing well it was really a tough time. Even though we are we're doing well at Magalu. So seeing my colleagues
business colleagues some of them not with the relevant digital channel we had not doing well, it was a tough time. And I
also was also very worried about our own employyes. So there are health issues. You mentioned that you started this business over two
decades ago. You must have faced a lot of skepticism when you first launched this. How did you overcome that. We have
skepticism not only for starting early but for starting differently because we were already traditional retailer and we
decided to build a omnichannel model. So I launched the e-commerce on top of the traditional retail platform. So I use the same
distribution center, same systems end up investors and even like the community as a whole was skeptical about our approach
of like bundling everything together. Nobody thought that traditional retailer will be relevant for e-commerce.
But I think we stuck to our approach. We followed these complexities of the hurdles of Brazil, and currently it
paid off. Currently we are a market leader e-commerce. the leader of e-commerce in Brazil, and the only one doing e-commerce in Brazil
profitably so. So, it really paid off to keep our omnichannel strategy. So was your family on board with this strategy from
the get go. What are some of the lessons that you took away from your family's business empire. One thing that I love about my
family is that they always put their business first. So and a and, a very interesting fact about Magalu that we were
is that we were founded by, and led by women, for like 40 years. Yes. Right. It's very typical for our Latin American company.
And, I think we have this, I'm a open-minded feminist soul in the company. So they are really open. They think outside the box.
They are not stuck with the best. So we have very strong values and I haven't changed those. But in terms of changing business model
and in the channels, and the way we operate, we say here in Magalu that what never changes is that we are always changing. And they
really supported me. I never had any issue with the board and they supported me because they know the e-commerce and the digital
would have a major impact in retailing, not only Brazil, but overall. So your mother is a
key figure not only in Magalu, but also in Brazil's business community, right? So what's the dynamic there.
Do you often agree or disagree. We have a open confront culture. So, we like to confront each other. We don't like to choose disagreement. We
like to have a transparent discussion. And she's very tough. She wants the business to to thrive. And she wants us to
think always outside the box. It's really like a regular kind of relationship between boss because she's currently my boss.
She's currently the chairwoman of the company, and CEO of the company. So it's a very open minded relationship and she's very
tough. She wants results, not only financial results, but she wants also the company to thrive in terms of ESG.
Several other fronts. So, it's a really natural relationship. So let's talk a little bit about some of the challenges that you
may be facing going forward. We know that Brazil has given out some generous emergency payments for the pandemic with those
getting reduced now that we're entering a post Covid era is that going to
affect Magalu. No. We are macro proof in the sense that our business demands on the growth of e-commerce in Brazil. So
when you look at e-commerce in Brazil even after the Covid crisis it's only 10 percent of everything. It's a 1 trillion 200 billion
retail market in Brazil, and only 10 percent it's online. The e-commerce in Brazil, we grow no matter what. So are you happy right
now with your logistics capacity or are you planning to ramp up investments there. We want to increase our square footage to 2
million square meters in Brazil. We have currently eight hundred thousand square meters of distribution capabilities. So we are
still investing because I don't want to wait. So I don't want to wait for a foreigner to make Brazil digital. We want to be a Brazilian company
making Brazil digital. So in this post Covid world the environment is changing so fast. How are you systematically
future proofing your business. We made Magalu digital. We spent 20 years to make an internet retailer one of the
leaders in e-commerce in Brazil. So that was it. That's very hard because you don't see that in any other country. So all of
the relevant e-commerce players in other countries they were barely digital. We did at Magalu, but we haven't stopped here. So
we are now using all the learnings, all the software that we built make Magalu digital, to help other retailers to
go digital as well. So I think we are bullet-proofing our business by being bold and helping other business to grow. Future proofing
will also include succession. Are you looking into setting up your children for perhaps one day having to do what you are
doing right now. It took me 15 years working very hard on the e-commerce part
to go to the CO position. And, I had to prove myself doing a profitable and growing business. And when I
became CO I became CO because the company really wanted to do in the digital e-commerce. I don't know if my children will have
the same opportunity or they will have the same will to be working at the company. Currently, I have great executives, so I have a
great bench here. So we don't have that.
planning for succession here. So it happens organically naturally. It's not a very detailed succession planning that
you're starting or training your siblings to take on. It's a very organic approach at Magalu. And in my case it
worked very well.