Company Profile
Guararapes Group is one of the largest companies in Brazil’s fashion sector and stands out for its fully integrated business model¹. Its vertical chain combines manufacturing, retail and financial services, delivering efficiency gains, agility and competitiveness across all operations.
For more than seven decades, the Company has contributed to the Brazilian fashion landscape by offering quality products with attractive value for money, broad assortment and close alignment with market trends in order to meet customer expectations.
As of 2026, the Company’s verticalized business model has encompassed two operating segments, which represent the Company’s two core businesses and reinforce one another while generating value. We believe both segments are essential to the sustainable growth of the business and the Company’s value creation: Merchandise and Financial Services (provided by Midway Financeira). In fiscal year 2025, these segments accounted for 74.9% and 24.0% of Net Revenue, respectively, and 66.7% and 27.5% of Adjusted EBITDA, respectively.
(i) Merchandise Segment
The Merchandise segment comprises the Company’s apparel manufacturing operations and the resale of products through the store network of its subsidiary Lojas Riachuelo in the main cities across Brazil, as well as through its e-commerce platform.
Manufacturing: The Company operates Fábrica Guararapes, located in the city of Natal, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. This industrial unit is part of the Group’s verticalized business model and is the largest proprietary textile complex in Latin America in terms of facility size and breadth of production stages. The factory plays a central role in the value chain by participating in knitting, apparel manufacturing, dyeing, laundry processing, sewing and customization, contributing to competitiveness and operational agility.
Retail: A brand platform that brings together Riachuelo, Casa Riachuelo, Carter’s and FANLAB, with more than 440 physical stores in Brazil. Riachuelo has established itself as a modern and authentic brand, celebrating Brazilian identity through a differentiated verticalized model. More than a retailer, we have built a brand ecosystem with strategic roles designed to strengthen customer loyalty and generate long-term value. Our brands are:
-
- Riachuelo: The Company’s flagship brand, focused on democratizing trends and aspirational fashion. It serves as the ecosystem’s main style destination, establishing the emotional connection with the customer base and sustaining the Company’s brand awareness.
- Pool Jeans: A brand focused on youth lifestyle and urban fashion, with expertise in denim and casualwear, combining versatility and competitiveness to renew the base of young consumers.
- Body Work: Focused on activewear, with a portfolio geared toward performance and well-being, combining comfort with functional textile technologies.
- D-Ultras: Dedicated to high-value essentials, with technological fabrics that enhance durability and functionality, driving recurrence and operational predictability.
(ii) Midway Financeira (Financial Services Segment)
An integrated platform of financial products and services focused on the Group’s retail customers. It offers solutions such as digital accounts, credit cards, personal loans, insurance and assistance products. The Financial Services Segment operates as a strategic loyalty platform, integrating financial solutions designed to deepen customer relationships, increase recurrence and support the Group’s profitability.
For more information about Midway, click here.
With clearly defined ambitions, the Company aims to become Brazil’s leading fashion company, while also seeking, through its financial services businesses, to enhance value, foster customer loyalty and strengthen the customer journey. Our fashion creates impact, and a reflection of this new journey is the Company’s inclusion among the Top 30 companies ranked in corporate sustainability by the ISE B3, as well as its integration into the ICO2 B3 portfolio. For more information, please refer to the Integrated Report.
Our History
The history of Guararapes Group began in 1947, when brothers Nevaldo and Newton Rocha opened the “A Capital” store in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Since then, the Company has built a trajectory marked by expansion, integration and transformation, consolidating a business model that now connects manufacturing, retail and financial services.
1947
Nevaldo and Newton Rocha open the “A Capital” fabric store in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, marking the beginning of Guararapes Group’s history.
1951
The business expands to Recife, Pernambuco, with the establishment of a textile manufacturing operation and the acquisition of additional commercial locations.
1956
Guararapes is founded in Recife, Pernambuco.
1970
Guararapes completes its initial public offering.
1976
Manufacturing facilities are built in Fortaleza, Ceará, with 9,800 square meters of built area, and in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte. During the same period, the Super G store chain is launched.
1979
The Company acquires Lojas Riachuelo and Wolens, expanding its presence in textile retail. In the same year, Guararapes Têxtil is inaugurated in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.
1979
Transportadora Casa Verde is established, becoming responsible for part of the Group’s logistics operations.
1982
The Pool brand is launched and becomes a fashion icon in the 1980s. It was also the main sponsor of Ayrton Senna early in Ayrton Senna’s career, when Ayrton Senna competed in Karting and Formula 3.
1983
Seta and Wolens stores are incorporated into Riachuelo.
1993
Guararapes Group begins a new cycle of modernization and restructuring.
1997
The Natal, Rio Grande do Norte manufacturing unit is expanded and reaches 150,000 square meters of built area. At the same time, the Fortaleza, Ceará plant takes over the production of woven fabrics, such as twill, denim and shirting.
1999
Further enhancing the logistics of its operations, the Company inaugurates its first distribution center, located in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.
2004
Opening of the Distribution Center in Guarulhos (SP), with total area of 86,000 squared meters.
2005
The Company inaugurates Midway Mall in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, and begins to intensify the allocation of factory output to the Riachuelo store network.
2008
The factory’s entire production is directed to the Group’s stores. In the same year, Midway Financeira is established.
2010
Operations of the co-branded card begin.
2013
Guararapes expands internationally and opens an office in Shanghai, China, to support its commercial negotiations.
2015
The Company begins investments in the Guarulhos, São Paulo distribution center, enabling the migration of the automated logistics of 100% of its apparel assortment to an SKU-based model. In the same year, the Company also begins selling mobile phones.
2016
The Guarulhos, São Paulo distribution center is inaugurated, representing an important step in the development of the Company’s fast fashion concept. In the same period, fragrance and beauty operations begin.
2020
Two new store formats are launched: Casa Riachuelo and Carter’s. In the same year, the Company undergoes a digital transformation process aimed at strengthening the technological foundation that would support the next steps of Guararapes Group and bringing a more integrated, systemic view across its retail and financial services businesses.
2021
The Company consolidates its omnichannel strategy with integrated solutions across stores, digital channels and distribution centers. Midway launches its digital account, reaching 1 million openings within the first five months. In December, B3 approves the Company’s request to migrate to Novo Mercado.
2022
The migration to Novo Mercado is approved at a shareholders’ meeting, and the Company’s shares begin trading in this segment in April.
2023
The Company centralizes its manufacturing operations in Rio Grande do Norte, discontinuing operations at the Fortaleza, Ceará plant as part of its operational optimization strategy. In the same year, André Farber is appointed Chief Executive Officer. Following André Farber’s arrival, the Company revisits processes and maps growth levers and initiatives that support its strategic priorities, with a focus on maximizing the potential of its core business and increasing assertiveness and quality in product offerings.
2025
The year 2025 consolidates the Company’s transformation journey, marked by disciplined execution and a constant focus on efficiency. Throughout the year, the Company makes consistent progress in the evolution of the Riachuelo brand, reinforcing its proprietary identity and increasingly Brazilian essence. This movement gains further momentum with the inauguration of the pop-up store in the Pinheiros neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, state of São Paulo — an experimental 267.5-square-meter space designed to serve as a creative laboratory, materializing the brand’s new phase.
The financial services operation also consolidates its transformation in 2025, evolving from a support function for retail into a business unit with a more relevant strategic role, strengthening the Company’s integrated model and expanding value creation for Guararapes Group.
B3 authorizes the Company to maintain a free float representing at least 17.25% of its share capital until December 31, 2026, in line with the Novo Mercado Rules.
In December 2025, the Company’s Board of Directors approves the sale by Lojas Riachuelo of all of the equity interests representing the share capital of Midway Shopping Center Ltda. (“Midway Mall”).
2026
The Company’s shares begin trading under the ticker RIAA3, and its trading name is changed to Riachuelo, reinforcing the connection between brand, strategy and execution. In the same year, the Company joins the Top 30 of the ISE B3.
In April 2026, the ParkShoppingBarigüi store in Curitiba, Paraná, reopens following a renovation and expansion to more than 1,000 square meters, consolidating the concept of an “Incredibly Brazilian Riachuelo”, with a new customer experience model previously tested at the Pinheiros pop-up store in São Paulo, São Paulo.