The Company

Strategies and Competitive Strengths

Leadership in the Brazilian furniture and fixture market, and a portfolio of well-known and complementary brands for all income brackets  

Our brands Dell Anno, New and Casa Brasileira are well-known in the national market and we believe they are purchased by nearly all income brackets without significant cannibalization. With such varied profiles, we significantly invest in marketing campaigns for our brands, including campaigns involving fashion models, celebrities, architects and designers seeking to increase our brands’ credibility in the worlds of design, architecture and fashion, along with the respective audiences they tend to reach. In addition, we expose our brands and products at fairs and exhibitions in the furniture, decoration, art and architecture segment in the country, such as Design Weekend, Casa Cor and Casa Vogue Experience. Also, we were in exhibition at the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair, held in Italy.

Broad distribution network delivering products throughout Brazil and abroad.  

We have developed a solid network of authorized distributors and multi-brand distibutors, strategically located, standardized and suited to each of our brands. The extension of our distribution network, as well as varied customers and markets, allows us to obtain knowledge about each market and its peculiarities, strengthening our brands and their ranges.

Product development and innovative design at a state-of-the-art and highly efficient manufacturing facility.

Our research and development team stays current with market trends, continually assessing indicators in the areas of aesthetics, functionality, fashion and behavior, in order to regularly launch new collections with innovative designs. The advanced technology used at our manufacturing facility helps us to quickly launch new products and provide quality workmanship on a large scale. Furthermore, the modern equipment used at our facility allows us to work with a product line that offers multiple options in surface finishing, without impairing economies of scale. This provides us a competitive advantage, since we can develop more comprehensive product lines, in terms of surface finishing’s offered, at a lower cost.

Ability to identify and react to growth opportunities in the industry on a timely basis. 

We believe we are well-positioned to seize these market opportunities, as we have adapted our structure following these recent economic changes, so as to be able to promptly react to prospective opportunities. For instance, in 2009, as middle-class consumption began to grow, we created the New brand, focused on customers in this income bracket. Similarly, in 2010, with the rapid growth of the real estate market, in terms of residential, commercial, hotel development and construction in general, as well as Brazil being awarded the World Cup and Olympic Games, we created a corporate department, Unicasa Corporate, to provide customized services to our customers in this business. In 2013, we launched the Casa Brasileira brand, focused on environments suited to the reality of increasingly smaller homes and seeking a cultural identity with each Brazilian region.

Strong cash flow.  

We have not invested significant capital (other than in production facilities), we maintain a low inventory of finished products (our products are made to order), we have short sales deadlines and low investment in property and equipment (when considering the company’s entire supply and distribution chains, the manufacturing plant and related equipment are the main property and equipment the company holds), which has allowed us to grow while generating cash flow. In addition, we estimate that our manufacturing facility’s production capacity may be expanded by approximately 40% without significant additional investment, which reduces our need for short- and medium-term capital investment without compromising our business plan for the next three years.

Human resource policies focused on results and the customer. 

Our business relies upon a sales model that begins with the development of a project, followed by product assembly and continuing through the moment of sale and the post-sale services. We are aware of the importance of motivated sales personnel committed to the principles of each of our brands and to providing good service to customers and specific professionals in the area (such as architects and designers). The Unicasa Training Sector, designed to train our employees, Exclusive Dealers and their teams, and to guarantee support and disseminate best practices for each step of the business process. This practice has provided us with an improved performance from the better results obtained by our employees and Dealers, as well as preserving our image and increasing the value of our brands.

Management with ample experience in the sector and a high degree of professionalism.

Some of our founding shareholders that are members of our board of directors and executive officers have been active in the furniture business for over 20 years. In addition, our management team is focused on results, continuously improving management’s practices and increasing returns on investment for our shareholders.

 

Strategies

Capture Growth Opportunities

To capture growth opportunities, we invest in the qualification of our dealers to consolidate the positioning of our brands, encouraging them to implement improvements, invest in team training and business management.

Obtain greater economies of scale and operational efficiency through an increase in sales.

We plan to achieve growth and to consolidate our leadership position in the customized furniture and fixture industry by improving our operational efficiency. We expect maintaining our sales growth and continually investing in technology will allow us to obtain additional economies of scale and operational efficiency, which will help dilute fixed costs, increase our negotiating power with our suppliers, improve productivity and optimize our manufacturing capacity.

Continuously increase our range of innovative products offered.

We believe that regular innovation is an important element for the image of our brands, our competitiveness and our growth. Additionally, we believe that we are known for our focus on research and development and will continue to manage our product mix in order to anticipate trends and surprise our customers. 

Increase sales by our corporate business.

We believe the span of our network of Dealers, combined with our logistics structure, production capacity and flexibility, places us in a privileged position to capture significant benefits due to the growth of the corporate business. We plan to keep expanding our business relationships with corporations such as hotels and construction companies, which will allow us to leverage our sales in this business.