It presented itself as Brazil’s largest fashion group. And, indeed, Azzas 2154 was created in 2024 through the merger of two of the country’s leading players in the sector. This marriage, however, has failed. The founding partners, now former partners, have announced that they will return to their original configurations. The Arezzo&Co group, strong in accessories, will retain the Arezzo, Schutz, Hering and Alexandre Birman brands. Soma, meanwhile, will retain Animale, Reserva and the group’s other brands. Only the Farm Rio brand will continue to be jointly owned.
The end of the partnership
This separation, according to news agencies, first requires the necessary authorisations before it can be completed: the aim is to reach the result in the first quarter of 2027. The São Paulo Stock Exchange has meanwhile approved the decision, greeting it with an 11.94% rise in the share price, which brought Azzas 2154’s market capitalisation to 3.1 billion reais (more than EUR 520 million). This marriage never really worked; tensions between the shareholders — represented by their respective CEOs, Alexandre Birman for Arezzo&Co and Roberto Jatahy for Soma — were well known, and investors welcomed the simplification. It means losing out in terms of scale: Azzas 2154 had 22,000 employees and turnover of 14.7 billion reais (around EUR 2.5 billion). But it brings gains in terms of strategic clarity.
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