Panel SA: American footwear will win the world like Havaianas, says president of Alpargatas

For Roberto Funari, president of Alpargatas, who this Monday (20th) announced a billion-dollar investment in the American Rothy’s, a native digital brand of shoes made from sustainable inputs in California, the idea that prevails in the business is complementarity and similarity with Havaianas.

He says he sees potential for the young company, which started selling products made from recycled PET bottles in 2016, to follow a similar trajectory to Havaianas’s international expansion.

“Havaianas came from Brazil to win the world. We want to see Rothy’s from the United States to win the world,” says Funari.

While the Brazilian brand has open shoes for outdoor and leisure use occasions, Rothy’s comes with closed shoes for work or daily routine activities. Havaianas is strong in Brazil and Europe, and the new brand arrives with a pillar built in the United States. Both entered the category of sneakers this year, which is the fastest growing, but the rest of the portfolio is complementary.

“In addition to geography and usage occasions, there is the issue of channels. Rothy’s was born in digital. Havaianas has a democratic price range. This is a more premium brand. It will grow a lot in closed shoes”, says Funari.

For the executive, the transaction is also another gesture by the centenary Alpargatas towards digital expansion and the capacity for technological innovation, which has been pursued in recent years, with the recent acquisition of the digital solutions company Ioasys.

Funari says the brands will operate separately, but exploring joint opportunities, such as international expansion, to take advantage of Havaianas’ presence in multiple sales channels, the ecommerce infrastructure and the supply chain.

According to the executive, Rothy’s also favors the business with its own manufacture of 350 knitting machines in China, while Havaianas has global logistics.

Part of the investment goes into brand building, expansion of the retail store network, strengthening of operations and innovation.

The agreement to purchase 49.9% of Rothy’s for up to US$475 million (R$2.7 billion) is expected to take place in stages. The transaction depends on the approval of US antitrust authorities.

With Andressa Motter e Ana Luiza Tieghi