Restoque modifications costumes: with new proprietor, modifications in administration and identify

Company will have capital increase of R$ 100 million, anchored by WNT

After restructuring debt, fashion company Restoque is changing its corporate wardrobe. The company will be renamed Veste S/A Estilo, adopting the ticker VSTE3, will change management and call for a capitalization of R$ 100 million from shareholders. The capitalization of the group that owns brands like Le Lis and Dudalina will be anchored by the new controller, the WNT manager, whose biggest investor is Banco Master, owned by Daniel Vorcaro.

WNT will initially participate in the proportion of its stake (currently 55.9%), but may eventually also retain subscription surpluses. The value per share will be R$ 1.70, which represents a premium of 12.6% compared to today’s closing date, and there will be a reverse split of shares in the ratio of eight to one.

The cash will be used by the company to continue its store renovation and digitization program. “We have been making a plan of several actions in the company since 2019 that have already shown results, with growth in an organized and responsible way. The refurbished stores return an average of 20% more than the others and have a better payback than openings”, explains Marcelo Lima, chairman of the board, to Pipeline. “With the capital increase, we accelerate this.”

The company has 186 stores and has already remodeled 10. Next year, it will renovate a third of the chain, in the different brands. Veste’s ambition is to more than double Ebitda by 2025, with a 50% increase in revenue and gains in efficiency and margin. In recent months, the company managed to impose the full price on the main brands, leaving aside promotions and still reducing stocks.

In management, the current director of operations Alexandre Afrange will be the CEO of the group, a chair he already occupied in 2014. Livinston Bauermeister moves from the executive presidency to a chair on the board, which will also be composed of Luciana Cezar Coelho, already a member of the board , and newcomers João De Biase (ex-Itaú), Paulo Figueiredo (from shareholder Geribá Investimentos) and Carolina Wosiack (CI&T executive in Europe). Lima, a longtime reference shareholder, remains chairman.

Afrange had left the company and returned as head of the Le Lis brand (new look for Le Lis Blanc), which represents 40% of the group’s business. “It worked so well that he became COO in July of last year and is now CEO of the company”, says Lima.

The second highest-grossing brand is John John, with around 25%, and the surprise, according to the shareholder and board member, has been the resumption of Bo.Bô, the group’s highest ticket brand, thanks to collection adjustments and strategies for resuming the client who had been surprised by previous changes.

At Dudalina, the path will be a little longer, but Lima considers that it is one of the house brands with the greatest growth potential, given that it has become more compressed in recent years with changes in the factory and in the team. The company is not considering a portfolio reassessment, with the eventual sale of any of the brands, but it may consider acquisitions, according to Lima – which a short time ago was unthinkable, in the midst of restructuring.

With the structuring of the Master, the manager bought Restoque’s debt and aligned with the board the proposal for conversion into shares, which was supported by 93% of the debenture holders – reducing the debt from R$ 1.76 billion to R$ 130 million and bringing down the leverage of nearly 10 times to 0.6.

In nine months, the company recorded sales of BRL 969 million, up 32% compared to the same period last year and 6.8% compared to 2019, for comparison basis before the pandemic. Ebtida was R$ 140 million, up 205% compared to the same period last year. The challenge is still the net result, which has not yet turned positive, with a loss of R$ 169 million from January to September.

Source: Pipeline Valor