CEAB3 C&A Modas

C&A Modas S.A. is a publicly traded company in the fashion retail segment, with common shares traded on B3 under the ticker CEAB3, listed on the Novo Mercado segment. The C&A brand was founded in 1841 in Europe by the Dutch brothers Clemens and August, and has become one of the largest fashion retail chains in the world. The Brazilian operation began in 1976 with the opening of the first store in Shopping Ibirapuera, in São Paulo, and was one of the pioneers of the department store format and the offer of ready-to-wear fashion in the country. Over the following decades, its operations in Brazil went through corporate reorganizations that culminated in the incorporation of C&A Modas in 1981 and in an expansion process that took the company to all Brazilian states and the Federal District, consolidating a relevant national presence in apparel retail.

The company built its trajectory in the Brazilian market by leveraging the concept of anchor stores in shopping malls, a model it helped to spread starting in the 1970s. C&A was also one of the first large department store chains to operate a private label card in the country, integrating fashion product offerings with consumer credit. The company has invested heavily in brand communication over time, with high-exposure advertising campaigns and partnerships with celebrities, which contributed to brand recognition in the market. In 2014, it took an important step in the digitalization of its operations by launching its e-commerce platform, followed in 2016 by the rollout of the Click & Collect model, expanding integration between physical and online channels. In 2019, its conversion into a corporation and IPO on B3 marked a new phase, with a stated focus on the C&A Fashion Tech strategy, geared toward digitalization, logistics modernization and expansion of financial products.

C&A Modas’ business model is fundamentally centered on the creation, distribution and sale of fashion products and related categories through an integrated network of brick-and-mortar stores and digital channels. The portfolio includes clothing, footwear, accessories and beachwear for women, men and children, as well as fashion-oriented electronics such as cell phones, smartphones and watches, which the company classifies as fashiontronics. In 2019, the company added the beauty category, with cosmetics and fragrances, reinforcing its broad assortment proposition focused on discretionary consumption. The company designs its own collections based on a constant reading of trends and consumer behavior, seeking to quickly adjust assortment, volumes and sizes according to demand observed in stores and in e-commerce, which is reflected in the use of capsule collections, biweekly launches and digitally native initiatives such as the Mindse7 brand.

C&A’s operations are organized into two main segments: Retail and Financial Products and Services. The Retail segment encompasses the sale of clothing, footwear, fragrances, cosmetics, watches and cell phones in physical stores and in e-commerce, accounting for most of the consolidated net operating revenue. In 2024, Retail net operating revenue totaled more than R$ 7.1 billion, while the Financial Products and Services segment, which includes consumer credit operations and insurance intermediation, reached approximately R$ 490 million in net operating revenue, before intragroup eliminations. The company does not manufacture the products it sells directly; its model is based on controlling the creative, planning and purchasing stages, outsourcing production to a network of selected domestic and international suppliers, which allows flexibility in managing collections and volumes.

In physical retail, C&A Modas operates 332 stores across more than 160 Brazilian cities, with a presence in all 26 states and the Federal District, combining units in shopping malls, which are the company’s focus, and street stores. Total sales area exceeds 600,000 square meters, with stores frequently positioned as anchor tenants in shopping centers, which supports customer traffic. Operations are supported by three distribution centers, located in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina, with a total area of more than 85,000 square meters, in addition to a logistics structure dedicated to e-commerce, automated in 2021. The supply chain integrates the replenishment of physical stores with service to digital channels, including omnichannel solutions such as Click & Collect and ship-from-store, which allow stores to be used as mini distribution hubs for online orders, reducing delivery times and optimizing logistics costs.

From a geographical standpoint, C&A’s revenue is generated entirely in Brazil, with no recorded revenue abroad in 2024. The supplier network, however, combines domestic and imported production: in 2024, around 73% of apparel and footwear products came from domestic suppliers, while the remainder was sourced from international partners, mainly in Asia, intermediated by C&A Sourcing, a COFRA Group company that centralizes global sourcing operations. The customer base is highly fragmented, with no relevant concentration in any single buyer; no customer accounted for more than 10% of net revenue in the 2024 fiscal year, reflecting the mass-market nature of fashion retail operations aimed at the end consumer.

In addition to merchandise retail, C&A Modas has been developing its own financial services platform. Historically, credit and insurance products were offered in partnership with Grupo Bradesco, through the co-branded C&A Bradesco card. In 2021, the company repurchased the right to operate this line of business and launched C&A Pay, its 100% digital private label card, which can be used exclusively at C&A stores and on its e-commerce platform. In 2024, C&A Pay reached 25.3% penetration in the company’s retail sales, offering installment options and the contracting of bundled insurance and service plans. The creation of C&A Pay Holding Financeira and C&A Pay Sociedade de Crédito Direto, authorized to operate by the Central Bank in December 2022, reinforced the verticalization of consumer credit offerings, subjecting this part of the business to the specific regulation of the monetary authority.

C&A Modas’ activities are subject to a set of regulations typical of large retail chains, which involve municipal operating licenses, fire department permits, compliance with urban zoning rules and adherence to safety and fire prevention standards. The company maintains processes for obtaining, renewing and controlling these authorizations in all locations where it operates, under penalty of administrative sanctions, fines or closures in case of non-compliance. In parallel, the company is subject to personal data protection laws in Brazil, including the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and related regulations, which is especially relevant given the volume of data on customers, employees and partners processed in its physical and digital channels. To comply with this regulatory framework, the company has implemented privacy notices, contractual data protection clauses, and tools for consent management and data subject servicing, under the supervision of the National Data Protection Authority.

On environmental, social and governance topics, C&A Modas structures its approach around the idea of fashion with positive impact, which translates into initiatives both internally and across the supply chain. The company has a system for monitoring environmental legislation at the national level and adopts a Solid Waste Management Plan, updated annually in line with the National Solid Waste Policy, seeking proper disposal practices and the prevention and reduction of waste. On the social and labor front, the company monitors compliance with labor and human rights standards not only in its direct operations but also throughout its supplier network, with a focus on preventing child labor and conditions analogous to slavery. Since 2006, it has maintained supplier auditing and development programs, also using industry initiatives such as ABVTEX and SLCP, and works in partnership with the Instituto Pacto Nacional pela Erradicação do Trabalho Escravo (InPACTO). These actions are complemented by specific codes of conduct for suppliers and internal structures dedicated to ESG and a sustainable supply chain, as well as the work of Instituto C&A in social impact projects.

In a competitive environment marked by the fragmentation of Brazilian retail, with more than one million companies in the sector and strong competition from chains such as Renner and Riachuelo, as well as department store chains, hypermarkets and international e-commerce players, C&A Modas seeks to combine its physical store scale, omnichannel strategy and proprietary credit offering. CEAB3 shares traded on B3 reflect the consolidated performance of this combination of fashion retail, associated financial services, and logistics efficiency and digitalization initiatives. In 2024, the company recorded net revenue of R$ 7.64 billion, net income of R$ 452.5 million and a gross margin of 54.7%, figures that show the relevance of the apparel and related retail business as the company’s main source of revenue and earnings generation.