Americanas

Americanas, formerly known as Lojas Americanas, is a Brazilian mass-market retail company founded in 1929 in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The business was created around a simple proposition: offer a broad assortment of everyday goods at prices accessible to consumers with modest but stable incomes. Its founders were American entrepreneurs John Lee, Glen Matson, James Marshall, and Batson Borger, who had initially considered establishing a five-and-dime store in Buenos Aires. During their journey through South America, they met Brazilian entrepreneurs Aquino Sales and Max Landesmann, who encouraged them to establish the business in Rio de Janeiro instead. The first store opened in Niterói with a low-price, wide-assortment format inspired by American and European variety stores. Its early positioning targeted consumers who were underserved by specialized shops and higher-priced retailers. The company’s original slogan, “Nothing over $2,” expressed the emphasis on simple merchandising and accessible prices. Although the store initially attracted little customer traffic, it made its first sale shortly after opening and expanded rapidly. By the end of its first year, the chain had four locations, including stores in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It became a corporation in 1940. Over time, Americanas developed into one of Brazil’s largest retail networks. Its traditional stores sell a wide range of consumer products, including food and beverages, household items, personal-care products, toys, electronics, apparel, stationery, and seasonal merchandise. The company also developed smaller-format Americanas Express stores and operated retail locations connected with the Brazilian Blockbuster business after acquiring that operation in 2007. The company has historically served customers through physical stores, websites, marketplace activity, and other retail channels. Reference material describes a network of approximately 1,945 stores across all Brazilian states and the Federal District, supported by distribution centers in Nova Iguaçu, Barueri, Recife, and Uberlândia. Americanas expanded beyond its original store format through partnerships, acquisitions, and digital commerce. In the 1990s it participated in ventures involving Walmart Brasil and Carrefour-related retail assets, although it later refocused on its core discount-store business. It entered internet retail in 1999 through Americanas.com. In 2000, the digital operation attracted additional investment and became part of the company’s wider expansion into online retail. Americanas.com subsequently merged with Submarino in 2006, creating B2W, a major Brazilian digital-commerce company. The broader retail ecosystem also included Shoptime and financial-services initiatives such as Financeira Americanas Itaú, later known as Americanas Taií. The company’s recent history has been dominated by a severe accounting crisis. In January 2023, Americanas disclosed accounting inconsistencies estimated at approximately 20 billion Brazilian reais. Chief executive Sergio Rial resigned shortly after the disclosure, and the company sought judicial reorganization in Brazil on January 19, 2023. It also sought protection under United States bankruptcy proceedings later that month. The crisis led to investigations, disputes with creditors and former executives, and scrutiny from Brazilian regulators and prosecutors. In March 2025, federal prosecutors charged former executives, including Miguel Gutierrez, Anna Saicali, José Timótheo de Barros, and Márcio Cruz Meirelles, in connection with alleged fraud; the charges and related proceedings remained matters of legal process rather than final findings of guilt. Despite the restructuring crisis, Americanas remains an operating Brazilian retail brand.

Americanas began in 1929 when John Lee, Glen Matson, James Marshall, and Batson Borger, four American entrepreneurs, traveled to South America intending to establish a five-and-dime store. In the region they met Aquino Sales and Max Landesmann, who persuaded them that Brazil offered a promising market. The founders observed that Rio de Janeiro contained many public employees and military personnel with dependable but relatively modest incomes, while existing retailers were often expensive or specialized. They therefore designed a store with low prices and a broad assortment intended for consumers who were not well served by conventional merchants. The first Lojas Americanas store opened in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, in 1929. Its original slogan, “Nothing over $2,” communicated the store’s value proposition. The opening was initially slow, but the first purchase—a doll bought by a young girl who had stopped to inspect the window display—marked the beginning of the chain’s expansion. Within its first year the company had four stores, including three in Rio de Janeiro and one in São Paulo. It was incorporated in 1940. The company’s long-term development centered on the variety-store and discount-retail model. Americanas built a recognizable national network selling thousands of products from many suppliers. Its assortment came to include food, beverages, household goods, electronics, toys, apparel, personal-care products, stationery, books, and seasonal items. The business also experimented with smaller stores and alternative retail formats, eventually using the Americanas Express name for compact locations. A major ownership and strategic transition occurred in the 1980s. In 1982, members of Grupo Garantia joined the company as shareholders. In the 1990s, Americanas participated in several retail ventures. It held a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, while Walmart held the majority, and later took part in a transaction involving stores connected with the French supermarket company Comptoirs Modernes and Grupo Carrefour. Americanas ultimately withdrew from these associations and concentrated on its principal discount-retail operation. Digital commerce became increasingly important at the end of the 1990s. Americanas began selling products online through Americanas.com in 1999. The online operation attracted outside capital in 2000, including investment from several financial and venture partners, and became a major part of the company’s expansion strategy. During the same broad period, Americanas acquired the television and home-shopping business Shoptime and formed a financial-services partnership with Banco Itaú known as Financeira Americanas Itaú, or Americanas Taií. In November 2006, Americanas.com announced its merger with Submarino. The transaction created B2W, a major Brazilian e-commerce group intended to compete with established physical retail chains and other digital merchants. In January 2007, Americanas acquired the Brazilian Blockbuster operation for approximately 186.2 million Brazilian reais, according to the referenced material. The acquired stores were adapted to the Americanas format, with many incorporated into the Americanas Express network. The company’s supply-chain footprint expanded alongside its store and online operations. Referenced material identifies distribution centers in Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro; Barueri, São Paulo; Recife, Pernambuco; and Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. The retail network was described as having approximately 1,945 stores across Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District, with the company ranking among Brazil’s largest retailers. Americanas also faced labor-related criticism. In 2013, the company was ordered to pay 250,000 Brazilian reais in compensation connected with Bolivian workers producing garments for its BASIC+ brand. The case concerned working conditions described as slave-like by the relevant proceedings. The defining event in the company’s modern history began in January 2023, when Americanas disclosed accounting inconsistencies of approximately 20 billion Brazilian reais. Sergio Rial resigned as chief executive, and the company filed for judicial reorganization in Brazil on January 19. It later sought protection in United States bankruptcy proceedings. The disclosure produced extensive litigation, regulatory scrutiny, creditor negotiations, and internal and external investigations. In 2025, Brazilian federal prosecutors charged several former executives, identifying Miguel Gutierrez as a central figure in the alleged fraud and also charging Anna Saicali, José Timótheo de Barros, Márcio Cruz Meirelles, and others. These are allegations within ongoing legal proceedings and do not by themselves establish criminal liability. Americanas continues to operate as a Brazilian retail brand while addressing the consequences of the accounting crisis and restructuring.

1. 2025Former executives face fraud charges

   Brazilian federal prosecutors charged several former executives in connection with alleged fraud related to the accounting crisis.

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2. 2023Accounting crisis and judicial reorganization

   The company disclosed accounting inconsistencies of approximately 20 billion Brazilian reais, followed by the resignation of CEO Sergio Rial and judicial reorganization filings.

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3. 2013Compensation ordered in labor case

   Americanas was ordered to pay compensation connected with labor conditions involving Bolivian workers making BASIC+ clothing.

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4. 2007Brazilian Blockbuster operation is acquired

   Americanas acquired the Brazilian Blockbuster operation and integrated stores into its retail formats.

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5. 2006Americanas.com merges with Submarino

   The merger created B2W, a major Brazilian online-retail group.

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6. 1999Americanas enters online retail

   The company began selling merchandise through Americanas.com.

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7. 1994Walmart Brasil joint venture is formed

   Americanas and Walmart formed Walmart Brasil S/A, with Americanas holding a minority stake.

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8. 1982Grupo Garantia shareholders join

   Members of Grupo Garantia became shareholders, beginning an important change in the company’s ownership structure.

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9. 1940Company becomes a corporation

   After its initial expansion across Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the business was incorporated.

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10. 1929First Lojas Americanas store opens

    The founders opened the first store in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, using a low-price, broad-assortment variety-store model.

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A broad-assortment, value-oriented Brazilian retailer combining convenient physical stores with e-commerce and marketplace channels.

• Traditional Americanas storesDiscount department and variety retail1929

  The traditional store format is the core Americanas retail proposition: compact or mid-sized locations carrying a broad range of everyday goods at value-oriented prices. Typical categories include snacks and beverages, household products, electronics, toys, apparel, personal-care items, stationery, books, and seasonal merchandise. The format is designed around convenience and frequent purchases rather than specialist retail depth.

• Americanas ExpressConvenience and compact-format retail

  Americanas Express is a smaller-format store concept intended to place a more focused assortment in convenient locations. The format was also used to absorb and adapt parts of the Brazilian Blockbuster store network after Americanas acquired that operation. Its emphasis is convenience, recognizable branded merchandise, and quick shopping trips.

• Americanas.comE-commerce1999

  Americanas.com is the company’s principal online retail brand. It extends the physical-store assortment to digital customers and has operated as part of the group’s broader omnichannel and marketplace strategy. The site has offered multiple consumer categories rather than focusing on a single specialist segment.

• SubmarinoE-commerce

  Submarino is a Brazilian online-retail brand that became associated with Americanas through the 2006 merger with Americanas.com. The combination created B2W and expanded the group’s digital presence and ability to compete with other large Brazilian e-commerce businesses.

• ShoptimeHome shopping and e-commerce

  Shoptime is a home-shopping and digital-commerce brand acquired or operated within the Americanas ecosystem during its expansion beyond traditional stores. It provided another channel for product merchandising and distance retail alongside Americanas.com and Submarino.

• 1929Nothing over $2

  Brazil

  The founding store used the slogan “Nothing over $2” to communicate its low-price, broad-assortment proposition to Brazilian consumers.

  Outcome. The concept supported the early identity of the chain as an accessible variety retailer.

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• 2023Judicial reorganization after accounting disclosureOther

  The disclosure of approximately 20 billion Brazilian reais in accounting inconsistencies created severe pressure from creditors and other stakeholders.

  What changed. Americanas filed for judicial reorganization in Brazil and later sought protection under United States bankruptcy proceedings.

  Aftermath. The company entered a prolonged restructuring and investigation process while continuing to operate its retail businesses.

  Accounting inconsistencies disclosed. Approximately R$20 billion (January 2023)

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• 2007Acquisition of Brazilian Blockbuster operationsM&A

  Americanas pursued additional physical locations and a way to adapt the Brazilian video-rental network to its own retail model.

  What changed. The company acquired the Brazilian Blockbuster operation and integrated stores into Americanas formats, including Americanas Express.

  Aftermath. More than 100 former Blockbuster locations were incorporated into the Americanas network according to the referenced material.

  Acquisition price. R$186.2 million (January 2007)

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• 2006Merger of Americanas.com and SubmarinoM&A

  Americanas sought greater scale in Brazil’s rapidly developing online-retail market.

  What changed. Americanas.com merged with Submarino to create B2W.

  Aftermath. The transaction created one of Brazil’s leading online-retail groups and increased competition with traditional retail chains.

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• 1999Launch of Americanas.comProduct launch

  The growth of internet commerce created an opportunity to extend the Americanas assortment beyond physical stores.

  What changed. Americanas began selling merchandise online through Americanas.com.

  Aftermath. The digital operation became a foundation for later investment, the Submarino merger, and the formation of B2W.

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• 1997Americanas approves sale of stake to WalmartStrategy

  The company reviewed its participation in the Walmart Brasil venture as part of a broader restructuring of its retail interests.

  What changed. The administrative council approved the sale of Americanas’s 40 percent interest to Walmart.

  Aftermath. Americanas later concentrated more strongly on its own discount-store and variety-retail business.

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• 2025Fraud charges against former executivesControversy

  Brazilian federal prosecutors charged former executives over alleged fraud associated with the accounting crisis. The allegations remained subject to legal proceedings.

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• 2023Accounting inconsistencies and corporate collapseControversy

  Americanas disclosed approximately 20 billion Brazilian reais in accounting inconsistencies. The disclosure led to the resignation of CEO Sergio Rial, judicial reorganization in Brazil, United States bankruptcy proceedings, creditor disputes, and investigations.

  Source
• 2013Labor conditions involving BASIC+ productionControversy

  Americanas was ordered to pay compensation connected with Bolivian workers producing clothing for its BASIC+ brand. The workers’ conditions were characterized as slave-like in the referenced proceedings.

  Source

• 2007Americanas acquires Brazilian Blockbuster operations

  Americanas announced the acquisition of the Brazilian Blockbuster operation and integrated the business into its retail network, including Americanas Express locations.

  M&A
  Source

1. Lojas Americanas
2. Americanas official website