Casas Bahia


Casas Bahia is a Brazilian retail chain which specializes in furniture and home appliances. It was founded in 1952 in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, by Polish immigrant Samuel Klein, who began his career as a peddler selling products to migrant workers from the Brazilian Northeast. Since June 2019, the Klein family own a controlling stake in Via Varejo, which owns Casas Bahia.

Operations

Casas Bahia, unlike many of its competitors, does not rely on an internet presence as a cornerstone of its strategy—only in February 2009 it launched its online store, pressed by an increasing number of online sales in Brazil.
Rather, Casas Bahia makes the majority of its profit by charging interest on installment plan purchases, making it possible for low-income customers to purchase products which they would not be able to pay off in a single payment.
Another sales technique of the store is to locate cashiers in the back of the store, which requires clients to pass by all the products on the floor each month in order to pay their next monthly payment. Salespeople also consider the lines at the cashiers appropriate potential sales targets.
As of 2004, the company employed 22,000 people and was generating $2 billion in profits. By 2010, it had more than 500 stores in eleven states, besides the Federal District.
As of July 2020, the company has 857 stores in Brazil. The state with the largest number of Casas Bahia stores is São Paulo, with 358 stores.