Livraria Saraiva closes all iTown stores [atualizado]

the end of an era. Soon after Fnac ended its operations in Brazil and Livraria Cultura filed for bankruptcy, one of its main competitors also shows that its legs are bad.

O found today that the Saraiva Bookstore closed all its chain stores at once iTown (Apple Premium Reseller). The vast majority of employees were dismissed.

ITown store closed permanentlyNotice in one of the chain stores.

As I remember today, the opening of iTown at Shopping da Bahia (until then, Shopping Iguatemi), in April 2010. In addition, the chain had seven other stores: Salvador Shopping, Flamboyant Shopping Center (in Goinia), Shopping Recife , RioMar Shopping Recife, Barra Shopping (in Rio de Janeiro), Shopping Vitria and Natal Shopping.

The iTown website is still online, but all eight physical stores have dawned today with a warning similar to the one above. Saraiva's contract with Apple has ended and, in addition, it is likely that the retailer will soon no longer work with electronic equipment.

As recently reported by the Folha de S.Paulo, Livraria Saraiva's situation is from bad to worse. The chain today has a net debt of R $ 285 million and will take at least 12 years to pay it, if it does not accumulate new debts and maintain a good financial recovery plan.

Too bad, too bad.

Update 10/29/2018 s 17:38

Saraiva sent a statement to the about the changes, although it does not specifically mention the iTown network:

Saraiva informs that, in view of the economic and operational challenges of the market and indicators that portray a change in the dynamics of retail, it has taken a series of measures aimed at the evolution of the operation and the continuity of the business.

In line with its strategy, the initiatives reflect the company's effort to obtain profitability and gain operational efficiency, within a leaner and more dynamic structure. In this sense, the measures adopted by the company include the closing of some stores. With this movement, the company continues its transformation plan, which includes opening, renovations and closings of units, in order to keep its operation healthy and increasingly multichannel. ()

The statement in full is extensive, but confirms that the company is more dedicated to the book segment, also offering stationery, games, films and music products. The electronics / technology part becomes exclusive to your ecommerce, through marketplaces.