Riachuelo: Brazilian DNA and Textile Heritage Fuel Its Rise as a Fast Fashion Giant

French Guiana is a small and almost unknown French overseas region bordering Brazil to the south. In the 17th century, the inhabitants of this territory were determined to expand southward and conquer part of the neighboring country. Captain Daniel de La Tocuhe, better known as La Roche, led French troops on an expedition down the Pontegi River in the present-day state of Rio Grande do Norte.

The French arrived to settle there in 1614, but encountered resistance from the local indigenous tribes and the Portuguese who controlled what is now Brazilian territory at the time. Finally, the French withdrew from the Pontegi River thanks to the resistance commanded by the Portuguese governor Félix de Sousa.

That river not only symbolized the spirit of struggle and resistance, but also served as inspiration to Nevaldo Rocha, a young son of Portuguese immigrants who started the textile business in the late forties together with his brother Newton. Riachuelo is today one of the largest fashion distribution companies in the world, despite only operating in Brazil.

The company, originally from the city of Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), has its origins on the banks of this river and the choice of its name has a sentimental connection with the region. Over time, Riachuelo became synonymous with accessible and trendy fashion to dress the whole family, in line with the objective with which Rocha had founded the company.

Riachuelo currently operates more than 300 stores in Brazil.

The first Riachuelo store opened its doors in 1947, just after World War II, when Brazil was beginning to transform its economic and social structure. The growing middle class, which was beginning to demand a modern, urban fashion style, found in Riachuelo an answer to its consumption needs.

At the same time, Brazilian industry began to flourish strongly, with textile factories that were able to supply the local market, where international brands had not yet penetrated with force.

With all this favorable context, Rocha moved forward with his business vision of modernizing the Brazilian fashion industry, with articles that were in line with world trends and at affordable prices.

Having consolidated its presence in northeastern Brazil, Riachuelo began to expand into other regions of the country between the 1950s and 1960s. The growth of its stores was accompanied by the diversification of its business, offering home textile products, beyond clothing.

The company was acquired by Guararapes Confecçoes in the late 1970s.

Since its origins, Riachuelo's business model has focused on local production, consolidating itself as a company that generates employment for several regions of Brazil and a strong focus on national industry.

A new phase with Guararapes

In 1979, Riachuelo began a new phase when it was acquired by the Brazilian group Guararapes Confecçoes, its current owner. The textile company, which has been listed on the stock exchange since the 1970s, also acquired the Wolens brand, thus expanding its business into the retail sector.

With Guararapes, Riachuelo began to expand throughout Brazil with large stores (over 1,000 square meters in area) in a mixture of flagship store and department store.

Towards the end of the 1990s, the company implemented the fast fashion system in its business, also continuing its expansion throughout Brazil. Today, Riachuelo has a network of 333 stores, all of them in its local market.

Also following the Inditex model, Riachuelo has its own independent chain of decoration and household items, with which it operates more than a dozen stores in Brazil.

Guararapes had a turnover of 1,553.9 million euros in the last fiscal year.

Despite being a public company, the Brazilian group is still led by the founding family. Flávio Gurgel Rocha is currently CEO of Guararapes, while his brother Élvio is Vice Chairman and Lisiane Gurgel Rocha is a member of the Board of Directors.

Beyond Riachuelo, Guararapes also currently holds the license of the American Carter's, the real estate business Midway Mall, the FanLab chain, specialized in the sale of books, video games and movies, in addition to the Casa Riachuelo line.

Guararapes ended the 2024 fiscal year with growth of 9.5% to 9,634.3 million reais (1,553.9 million euros). Retail revenues amounted to 7,219.1 million reais (1,164.3 million euros), 12.2% more than in the previous year.

In the last fiscal year, the Brazilian group managed to return to black numbers, with a profit of 235.2 million reais (37.9 million euros), compared to the loss of 34.3 million reais (5.5 million euros) recorded in 2023.