The Law & Fashion Webtalk event series promoted by ABPI and the Fashion Law Commission of OAB-RJ (CDMD) has been making history. The event reached its 6th edition bringing highly relevant themes to the debate.
The most recent one took place on July 22nd with the theme “Fashion Conglomerates: Strategic and Legal Aspects” and the participation of Douglas Carvalho Júnior, from Target Advisor, a consultancy specialized in corporate finance, Rodrigo Caseli, from Grupo Avenida, and Raphael Sahyoun, of the Twenty Four Seven brand. The mediation was by Deborah Portilho and Renata Lisboa, president and first vice president of CDMD, respectively.
Survival set the tone for the event. “The entrepreneur cannot think about selling, whether it is going to sell or not, he must survive, living comes after that. It is time to fix up your organization”, said Douglas Carvalho.
That’s exactly what Twenty Four Seven is doing. “We have plans in the future to increase the number of franchisees and licensees, but now we are reorganizing the company to be able to go through what is happening and envision a structured future”, explained Raphael Sahyon. In 201 he sold Bobstore, a women’s fashion brand, to the Inbrands group and, six years later, launched Twenty Four Seven, which already has 28 stores spread across Brazil. “What you’re getting to know is new for everyone, only with the reopening of malls and stores we will be able to see a little further ahead”, said the entrepreneur.
Grupo Avenida is an outlier in the pandemic. With 127 stores located in 14 Brazilian states least affected by the coronavirus, the group already has 103 units in operation and, according to Caseli, of the 40 stores in shopping malls, at least a dozen are growing compared to 2019. In Cuiabá, where the headquarters of the company is located, sanitary measures to restrict trade are still rigid and, therefore, stores are still closed. “When the stores in Cuiabá reopen, we will have 100% of our operation working”, stated the entrepreneur.
Sustainability – On July 25th, for the theme “Sustainability applied to the fashion industry”, the 4th Law & Fashion Webtalk brought speakers Yamê Reis, consultant of the Fashion Law Commission (CDM), coordinator of the European Institute of Design of Rio de Janeiro – IED-Rio and founder of Rio Ethical Fashion; Paula Passos, partner at Lapa Shoes; and Sérgio Dutra, founder of Lab 77. The webinar was mediated by Renata Lisboa and Ana Leticia Allevato, Secretary-General of the Fashion Law Commission of OAB-RJ.
Yamê said that “sustainability in the fashion sector is not a trend, it is here to stay”, recalling that in socially responsible companies, gender equality, the use of clean materials, the encouragement of responsible consumption, processes involving the circular economy, labor safety, among other items, are incorporated into the strategic management of companies. “Many of these sustainable actions bring savings to companies”, she said, highlighting the brand’s educational role with consumers. “This place of the brand that speaks and educates is important to transform the consumer”.
Lapa Shoes follows the sustainable management model and, as it does not use any animal products, it is characterized as a vegan company. An example is the “Lapa Recicla” (Lapa Recycles) line of shoes manufactured with recycled fabric and free of chemical processes and water usage. All the company’s products are manufactured based on the slow fashion concept, which prioritizes responsible consumption and the correct disposal of the garment at the end of its lifespan. “When I started, I was bitten by the spirit of entrepreneurship and I wanted to start in the most correct way possible”, explained Paula.
At Lab 77, sustainability is in the business model itself. The company, which has the T-shirt as its flagship, has its entire production line (seamstresses, printing, etc.) concentrated in one place and only sells on an on-demand basis. One of the secrets of this system is to manufacture timeless garments, which have already been tested and approved by the consumer. “We do not release on the market a product that will not be purchased, as our main goal is not to leave any residue, the so-called deadstock”, says Dutra. According to him, the fashion industry generates a lot of excesses, being that of the 150 billion pieces manufactured annually worldwide, 30% are either burned or returned to their countries of origin.
You can watch this webinar on the ABPI’s YouTube Channel:
