How to Open a Store in Brazil
Do you know what is necessary to have your own business in Brazilian lands? In this article will you learn the procedures to open a store in Brazil.
Opening a store may not be as simple as it seems. To own and manage your own business requires a group of abilities and knowledge. It's important not only to understand the functioning of the market and the public that you wish to target but you should also plan your business very carefully.
What does it takes to open and manage my own store?
A good manager must consider things such as marketing strategies and a controlled cash flow. Also, the enterprise needs to be prone to the creativity and innovation, as well as connected to new technologies.
It's important to know how to manage your own business – and there are courses for it. Brazilian organization Sebrae (Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas or The Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service) supports people that are considering to become entrepreneurs. In its official website, there are options for the ones who want to take courses in order to learn more about businesses management. There are online and classroom-based courses.
Besides professional capability, in the website there are also tips on how to open a store in different sectors of the Brazilian market, such as optical establishments, drugstores or bookstores. In each one of these areas there are articles and videos explaining and specifying the different paths that your business can take. The only problem for foreigners is that this content is only available in Portuguese.
Study the market
For a good start it's important to gather information about the market where you're investing in. Researching the market, finding the best places to open your establishment, identifying your competitors, suppliers and consumers, among other things, are some of the necessary information to elaborate a business plan, a document that will help you make the business real.
Targeting the public
There must be also a strategy to define the profile of the target group, analyzing the market and discovering what people want. Data as age, sex, income, religion, level of education, social class and region of the public have to be considered in order to standardize the clientele.
Creating a sales forecast
Based on the profile of the target group, considering the products that will be sold, the demand of the public to have them and the capacity of production, it will be possible to make a sales projection, determining the amount of products that should be offered by the company.
It's also important to check if the products are seasonal. In other words, if there are drops or rises in the demand according to the season's change – for instance, sales of ice-cream are better in the summer – or to the limitation of the suppliers – according to the harvest times of the agricultural products.
Marketing strategies
Another important thing to consider – probably one of the most important ones – is marketing. Marketing is a group of activities that make the company gain clients – some of who will become faithful to the brand. It's the communication between the company and the public, through advertising in electronic and printed medias, promotions at commercial establishments, raffles, gifts, merchandising.
Part of the company's strategy is a market plan, where goals and product strategies will be established, as well as the definition of the target group and how the goods will be sold. Promotions increase the sales and are supposed to happen when some product needs prominence, like when it's a new one or when it's forgotten in the market.
Building a sales team
It's necessary to define the profile of the salespeople, as well as checking if they fit the company's requirements. Appearance – and this includes not only the look, but also demeanor, body language and clothing – is important to see if the person behaves professionally.
As the owner, you also have to describe – and write it down– the tasks that the salespeople will have to do, to whom they will be subordinated, what will be their salaries and all basic information present in a job description.
Finding a good location
For your store to succeed, a good product and an efficient sales team aren't enough; it's necessary to have the best location. To find it, it's recommended to get a consultancy. Places where a lot of people pass by, near bus stops or subway stations tend to have more clients if the store offers low price products. But this rule doesn't apply to more expensive goods, and in this case it would be better to have a store that offers a parking lot.
Opening a store near a competitor may also be a good strategy. People who shop in your competitor may like to vary and eventually shop in your store. It's also important to match the type of the products and its prices with the neighborhood and the needs of the potential consumers.
Formalizing the company in 8 steps
1- To finally open your store, you will have to provide some documentation. It's necessary to define what is the type of company that you will have, its commercial and legal natures.
Commercial nature: services, commerce or industry
Legal nature: private companies limited by shares, joint stock corporations, cooperative, association, individual micro-entrepreneur, etc.
2 - Then you need to check with the City Hall if the landed property can be used to the end you aim. For that you will need a copy of the IPTU card (Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano or Urban Land and Building Tax). After getting the businesses license, it's necessary to ask the Junta Comercial (Board of Trade) to check if the name you gave to your company is available and can be used. You also have to check the situation of your partners at Receita Federal, Estadual e Local (Local, State and Federal Income) and at Junta Comercial, to avoid surprises in the future.
3 - After consulting, the contract must be issued and sent to Junta Comercial. Then CNPJ (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica or Corporate Taxpayers Registry Number) must be issued by Receita Federal.
4 - The next action is to check if you need a State Registry – some companies are exempt from it. For registration or to know if you are exempt, go to the Secretaria Estadual da Fazenda (State Secretariat of Finance). The Local Registry is mandatory and must be issued in the local Secretariat of Finance.
5 - Another mandatory registry is the one at INSS (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social or National Institute of Social Security), issued at the Previdência Social station.
6 - The City Hall will, then, issue the business license, which is the document that will allow the existence of the store. After formalizing your company, you will have to obtain a document that will authorize the Impressão de Documentos Fiscais (Printing Taxable Documents), in order to issue the receipts of Nota Fiscal.
7 - Depending on the business you are opening, it's also necessary to register your company in other institutions. For instance, if you intend to open a drugstore, you will have to obtain an authorization at Anvisa (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária or Brazilian Heatlh Surveillance Agency).
8 - Finally, every business activity has it's own representative syndicate. Inform yourself in the city where you'll open the store and register it.