Socioeconomic status:
With an annual growth of 2.3% — below government forecasts — Brazil’s business prospects remain dim. The country has low business confidence and weak private investment, a trend expected to continue throughout 2014. Political stability in recent years has been tarnished by some social unrest as people demand structural reforms that move slowly. The construction industry has also witnessed certain stagnation, especially in the last quarter of 2013.
Business developments and prospects:
The Group continues to benefit from emerging business opportunities in the country, with a growing middle class of around 100 million people. Even with results tainted by the real’s depreciation against the euro, Brazil has fully established itself as a top market in terms of turnover, with over 300 million euros in sales. The Group is a top leader in the country thanks to the Roca, Laufen, Incepa, Celite and Logasa brands. Today, the company directly employs 3,200 workers and has a sales network of close to 35,000 outlets, covering the entire country.
The new construction market has remained stable and drives sales of both sanitary ware and new bath product categories. To meet this growing demand, operations have started at new faucet and furniture plants, officially opened in early 2014.
In terms of ceramic tiles, we have managed to regain our market share thanks to the success of measures implemented in previous years. We focused mainly on repositioning Incepa as a premium brand, launching new formats and increased market share in our retail network, which helped broaden our customer base. Exploiting synergies with the bathroom space business — for example, through our joint presence at the Revestir fair — has also created added-value opportunities.
Relevant facts:
• Organization of the “Novedades” event, which attracted the country’s main clients and architects; special emphasis on faucet products
• First-place award at the Associação Nacional dos Comerciantes de Material de Construção (ANAMACO) National Awards in the sanitary ware category, and third in faucets
• Repositioning of Incepa as a premium ceramic tile brand, boasting a catalog better tailored to the needs of each channel, and launching large tile sizes