For the third consecutive year, Vestcasa won the award for the most admired brand by consumers in the Home Goods segment of the Ibevar 2024 Ranking. The award, which will be officially presented in August, analyzes 120 national retail companies, representing almost 30% of the country's consumer goods consumption, excluding vehicles.
Beyond practicing genuinely low prices, one of the secrets to Vestcasa's success is its socioenvironmental responsibility. According to the 2024 Retail report from the payment technology company Adyen, Brazil is the second most concerned country about the social and environmental commitment of retailers, a response given by 46% of consumers. According to the study, most Brazilians (56%) would pay more for a product if the seller were transparent about the measures used to reduce its environmental impact.
In Vestcasa's case, in addition to the company fulfilling its role in planetary sustainability, the consumer also pays less, showing that the award received again from the Ibevar Ranking is no accident. "We are very happy with this recognition again," celebrates Ahmad Yassin, founder and CEO of Vestcasa. "Our presence as the most admired company in the segment for the third consecutive year shows that we are on the right track."
Green retail (same)
Retail network focused on the sectors of bedding, table, bath, home décor, housewares, food and beverages, and Vestcasa It seems to have found the ideal formula for meeting all the requirements of green retail. At the same time that, through various initiatives, it reduces the disposal of plastics, fabrics, and other materials in the environment, it manages to generate wealth – revenue, jobs, etc. – providing people with lower purchasing power access to items that, under other circumstances, would be impossible to buy. A virtuous cycle of consumption.
With a business model inspired by the American Costco, whose shopping club members pay a fee for access to a wide variety of items – from groceries and electronics to furniture and clothing – at promotional prices, Vestcasa created its own shopping club offering truly competitive prices. The priority is top brands and top-tier items. “It’s not about selling the product for the lowest possible price,” explains Yassin. “It’s about selling the best possible product for the lowest possible price. Because the easiest way to lower the price is to reduce quality. And we don’t like to do that.”
Long before the government racked its brain trying to lower the price of beef, Vestcasa was already making barbecue lovers happy. With its headquarters in São Paulo and branches in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Santa Catarina, the network offers a kilo of picanha for R$29.90 and a can of beer for R$1 to members of its shopping club. To join the club, which already has more than 1 million members, consumers pay an annual fee of R$70, gaining the right to purchase products with exclusive prices and discounts of up to 70% compared to market values.
According to Yassin, one of the company's secrets is listening to the voices of its more than 10 million followers, a number that, incidentally, increases at a rate exceeding 11,000 new fans per day on social media. "We monitor this very, very, very closely: what the consumer is saying, their satisfaction level, what they want," reveals the founder. "Today, all company decisions are guided by what the consumer directs to us. Today, we don't need to conduct large-scale surveys. We just listen every day to what the customer is saying."
Unpackaged products
Vestcasa, which was born green – green is the brand's official color since its founding in 2008 – maintains a series of sustainability initiatives. Aiming to reduce the environmental impact of its operations, the network adopted a business practice of selling products without plastic packaging or cardboard boxes. Each day, the network sells approximately 120,000 sheets, all without packaging. If the customer wishes to take the products in plastic bags, the company sells the bags separately, discouraging the use of plastic by consumers. In total, by selling products without packaging, the company estimates that it avoids the disposal of 120 tons of plastic into the environment each month. That's 1,400 tons of plastic less per year.
The strategy aims to reduce product prices and increase customer access, as well as contributing to waste reduction. In some cases, the packaging price can represent 70% of the item's value. “Packaging doesn't only impact the product's appearance on the shelf. There's the cost of placing the item inside the packaging, the increased volume, which directly impacts increased logistics and transportation costs, also leading to higher storage costs, without considering the cost of packaging design, packaging components, and the packaging production process,” explains Yassin. “Our focus is on generating less waste and increasing consumer access.”
According to him, the biggest challenge for the adoption of the unpackaged sales model is connecting with the customer who understands the impact packaging has on the entire chain. "Such a large impact, just so you can take the item home, remove, and throw away the packaging," Yassin analyzes. "By rationalizing the purchase, the customer ends up shedding the veil of marketing and seeks the best product at the best price."
Sale of refurbished items
To reduce waste and offer more attractive prices to customers, Vestcasa is betting on the sale of products with defects. Some are refurbished. Others, with almost imperceptible flaws, are sold at significant discounts.
Clothes like t-shirts, shorts, dresses, and pants with minor defects are repaired by an external team and sold at lower prices – dresses that normally cost R$239, when repaired, are sold for R$39, and t-shirts that cost R$150, when repaired, are sold for R$39.90. With a total of 14,000 items sold by November 2023, the strategy has already generated R$500,000 in revenue for Vestcasa, with products that, in theory, would have been discarded.
On another front in the sale of defective items, products with minimal flaws that would initially be discarded after failing quality control are sold as is, without refurbishment or repair, at prices significantly lower than normal. Up to last November, more than 150,000 pieces had already been sold using this model, generating R$6 million in revenue for Vestcasa. (Note: "R$" has been interpreted as "R$6 million".)
Another strategy within the sale of defective products involves the company rationalizing defective items sold in kits. For example: if, in a set of six glasses, one unit is broken, and in another set of glasses, two are damaged, the intact units are assembled into a new kit, fully functional and perfect, avoiding the disposal of entire product kits due to defects in some of their units. Another example: if a bed set has a sheet with a loose seam, and in another, the problematic piece is a pillowcase, the undamaged products are combined into the same set, also avoiding the disposal of entire kits due to problems with only one of their pieces.
Recycled raw materials
Many of Vestcasa's products are made with recycled materials. The fibers used in the manufacture of pillows, comforters, and bedspreads are made from recycled PET bottle plastic. Similarly, some models of chairs, tables, and storage boxes are also made from recycled PET bottle plastic.
Used Product Sales
Recently, Vestcasa partnered with Salim Outlet, which has a space within the mega-store on Marginal Pinheiros in São Paulo, where it resells used and guaranteed cell phones, laptops, and tech items. For the retailer, in addition to meeting consumer demand for cheaper products aligned with the circular economy, the initiative becomes a way to attract a wider audience to physical stores – whose role has been questioned in the face of the new global commercial landscape. For consumers, the phenomenon provides more advantageous purchasing opportunities with the idea of contributing to environmental sustainability. And, for sellers of used items, the strategy means freeing up space at home, combined with generating extra income. In other words, as the sustainability manual dictates, everyone wins – including the planet.
