Trailblazing, innovation and commitment are
the foundations of Havan’s success – a Brazilian department store described as
‘a modern company ahead of its time’.
Havan’s story begins in 1986. At the age
of24, entrepreneur Luciano Hang realized that the town of Brusque, deep in the
state of Santa Catarina, was enjoying an economic boom driven by tourists who
liked to shop.
With his partner, Vanderlei de Limas, he opened a small fabric
store. They came up with the brand, Havan, by combining the Ha from Hang and
the Van from Vanderlei.
Three years after opening, their 45m2 store
couldn’t keep up with the huge customer demand or accommodate its rapidly
expanding product range. They moved to a larger building which, to this day,
houses the company’s head office. In the early 1990s, on a trip to South Korea,
Luciano spotted a new market opportunity.
Taking advantage of new import
regulations on foreign products and to meet Brazil’s retail needs, he imported
in‑bulk, fabrics and low‑priced items. Havan, who
opened a store in 1986 with a single employee, has now grown into a company
with 12,000 employees in branches all over Brazil; demonstrating its continued
expansion.
Impressive figures
Annually, Havan welcomes over 100 million
customers; they come to browse more than 100,000 national and imported products
– from clothing, appliances, toys and baby/childcare products to technology,
tools, household goods and decorations.
It is Brazil’s one‑stop shop. Recently, it
started a new business line – the Havan Viagens travel agency – offering
customers even more products and services. Such freedom of consumer choice is
represented by the Statue of Liberty which sits outside its stores and has become
a symbol for the Havan brand.
After more than 30 years of trading, Havan has
more than 100 stores, giving it a presence in 15 Brazilian states. "Our story
is built on the dedication and commitment of every employee.
People who see
Havan as a home from home and who go above and beyond the call of duty in order
to delight their customers. It is this set of attributes — our people, spirit
of adventure and courage — that enables Havan to be an amazing retailer,” says
group chairman, Luciano Hang.
A successful
partnership with MDS
The relationship between MDS Brazil and Havan
is a time‑honoured
one. As the number of stores increased, Hang looked for other ways to optimize
business potential. His innovative spirit has been instrumental to the brand’s
success; always anticipating market demands and introducing new products and
services to clients.
Today, Havan stores, in addition to their
100,000 strong extensive product range, offer other services, such as insurance
packages for Extended Warranty, Financial Protection and more recently,
Multi-Insurance. Havan’s close relationship with MDS means all work as a team,
promoting, running and managing joint campaigns and in‑store workshops in nearly every
company outlet and working together to monitor results.
The
partnership with MDS has continually improved Havan’s results, with a
remarkable 191% growth in affinity service sales in the past year. The service
sector now represents a substantial part of the Havan Group’s income, making it
a significant contributor to the bottom line.
Social
responsibility
Since its inception, Havan has embraced social
responsibility, viewing ‘giving something back to society’ as an important part
of its activity. Among Havan’s several environmental and community support
initiatives (particularly social, cultural and sports‑related projects) is Troco Solidário
(Solidary Penny), where customers are invited to donate the change from their
purchases. Launched in 2010, the initiative has raised more than R$18 million
which has been donated to charities wherever Havan operates.
It also supports the training and professional
development of younger people through Programa Menor Aprendiz (Young Apprentice
Project) and Projeto Pescar (The Fishing Project).
Menor Aprendiz, a youth apprenticeship
programme, is developed through partnership with the National Service for
Professional Apprenticeships (SENAC). Havan trains young people aged 14‑24, via internships in a
variety of company departments, giving them marketable skills. In seven years, 1863
young people started their careers with Havan as interns and the company
currently employs 336 of them.
Programa Entra 21, something Havan also
supports, follows a similar employment format. It empowers 300‑plus young people from
poorer backgrounds to engage with the technology sector. Not only does Havan
support the project with a monthly financial investment, but it also invites
some trainees to join the company.
Programa Entra 21 is funded by Santa
Catarina’s state government and the City Council of Blumenau and is also
supported by local businesses who commit to employing some of the young people
trained by this programme.
Havan’s future
Havan’s expansion plan includes the opening of
100 more mega‑stores
by 2022. "Over the next five years, we’ll do what it took us 31 years to
accomplish. We expect in 2022 to have 25,000 direct employees and 100,000
contractors, and we’re going to open in new states and new cities,” says
Luciano.
He concludes: "We’re confident about the
future and are motivated to focus our energies on the coming years and commit
to investments we’ve currently overlooked. We’ve witnessed changes in consumer
expenditure, there’s more growth, and this increasing consumer confidence
reflects the country’s economic trends.”
Luciano Hang’s vision for the future goes
beyond giving customers what they need – it’s to offer services and solutions
that innovate and amaze.
