Portuguese 
Casas Bahia closed 18 of 23 stores in Santa Catarina, including two locations in Blumenau, while the group reduced 298 operations across Brazil, cut 1,900 jobs, and incurred losses of nearly R$ 1.1 billion (about US$215 million) between January and March 2026 amid a financial crisis.
In August 2026, Casas Bahia expanded its efforts to downsize its physical infrastructure, closing 18 of the 23 stores it operated in Santa Catarina, including the two locations in Blumenau situated on Rua XV de Novembro and at Norte Shopping. This move comes as part of a national reorganization of the chain, which has already seen the closure of 298 operations nationwide, a reduction of 1,900 jobs, and an accumulated loss of nearly R$ 1.1 billion recorded between January and March of this year.
The information was published by NSC Total on August 14, 2026, following the closure of the Blumenau units that Friday. According to the report, only five stores remain operational in the state, located in Balneário Camboriú, Itajaí, Navegantes, Brusque, and Joinville, as the company faces high levels of debt and a significant reduction in its physical presence in the Brazilian retail market.
Casas Bahia Closes 18 Stores at Once in Santa Catarina
The impact of the restructuring of Casas Bahia in Santa Catarina was extensive. Out of the 23 stores the chain maintained in the state, 18 ceased operations, leaving only five locations in service. This reduction signifies that approximately three-quarters of the physical infrastructure in the state has closed in a single wave, significantly altering the brand’s presence in the local market.
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The remaining establishments are distributed across Balneário Camboriú, Itajaí, Navegantes, Brusque, and Joinville. This decision highlights that the crisis has moved beyond affecting only the company’s national balance sheets and has begun to manifest directly in local communities, resulting in the closure of retail points and a reduction in the network available to consumers.
Blumenau Loses Both Locations of the Chain
Blumenau was one of the hardest-hit cities as it completely lost the brand’s physical presence. The unit located on Rua XV de Novembro and the store at Norte Shopping halted operations on August 14, 2026, according to the published information.
In the case of the Rua XV location, part of the signage had already been removed during the afternoon of that day. Norte Shopping also confirmed the closure of its operation. With the simultaneous departure of both establishments, Blumenau went from having two Casas Bahia stores to zero physical locations of the chain.
Rua XV de Novembro Loses One of the Brand’s Stores
The unit on Rua XV was located in one of the most well-known commercial areas of Blumenau. The closure represents not only an internal change for the company but also the departure of a large retail operation from a traditional business address in the city.
By mid-afternoon on August 14, store visual elements were already being removed, according to reports. The closure concretely demonstrated the rapid pace of reorganization, as the downsizing in Santa Catarina occurred simultaneously across several cities.
Norte Shopping Also Confirms Closure
The second location of Casas Bahia in Blumenau operated within Norte Shopping. The shopping center itself confirmed the closure, ending the brand’s presence in the city’s shopping center segment as well.
The exit of both stores on the same day eliminates distinct operational formats that the company maintained locally: one street unit and another in a commercial center. This move demonstrates that the cuts were not concentrated in a single type of sales point, affecting different models of physical operation.
Network Reduced 298 Operations Nationwide
The crisis is not limited to Santa Catarina. According to the report, the group closed 298 stores from a network that had just over a thousand operations in the country, part of a nationwide reduction process of its physical footprint.
The scale of this cut helps contextualize what happened in the state. The 18 units in Santa Catarina are part of a much broader strategy to scale down operations. The closure of nearly 300 points shows that the company is significantly reducing its exposure through physical stores in different Brazilian markets.
Cuts Impacted 1.9 Thousand Jobs
In addition to the closure of units, the restructuring involved eliminating approximately 1,900 jobs across Brazil, according to data reported by NSC Total.
This figure amplifies the economic impact of the process, as a retail network does not only involve sales. Each establishment maintains teams for customer service, management, logistics, and other operational functions. When hundreds of stores stop operating, the impact also reaches employment and commercial activity in the affected regions.
Losses Approached R$ 1.1 Billion in the First Quarter
Between January and March 2026, the group reported losses of nearly R$ 1.1 billion, according to information cited in the report.
The financial results help explain why the company began to reduce its structure. A company with national operations needs to balance store expenses, personnel, logistics, inventory, and financial obligations with revenue generation. When losses of such magnitude accumulate, the closure of units and cost revisions can be part of broader reorganization processes.
Billion-Debt Pressures the Company
The report also links this move to a scenario of billion-dollar debt recorded in recent quarters. This factor adds pressure to daily operations, as the company must simultaneously manage retail costs and financial commitments.
The combination of high losses and debt helps contextualize the reduction of stores. Reducing physical structure may decrease certain operational costs, although the source does not specify how much the company intends to save specifically from the closures in Santa Catarina or elsewhere in Brazil.
Santa Catarina Drops from 23 to Just Five Stores
Before the round of closures, Casas Bahia operated 23 units in Santa Catarina. After the closure of 18 locations, only five continue to operate.
This change represents a significant reduction in the company’s presence within the State. Consumers in cities that lost their stores will now have to rely on surrounding municipalities or digital channels to maintain a commercial relationship with the network, altering the manner of service and distribution in the regional market.
Itajaí and Balneário Camboriú maintain operations
Among the five stores that remain open are locations in Itajaí and Balneário Camboriú, two cities with strong commercial activity on Santa Catarina’s coast.
The source does not disclose the criteria used by the company to determine which locations would stay open. Therefore, it is impossible to attribute the retention of these stores to performance, location, or specific revenue. The only confirmed fact is that both cities remain on the physical map of the network following the reduction.
Navegantes and Brusque also remain on the map
Navegantes and Brusque are part of the group of cities that continue to receive operations from Casas Bahia after the closings.
The retention of these units creates a significantly slimmer presence in the State. With only five remaining locations, the company is now concentrating its physical presence in a much smaller number of municipalities, after abandoning 18 operations in a single phase of the reorganization.
Joinville retains one unit of the network
Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina by population, also features among the locations where a unit continued operating after the round of cuts.
Once again, the source does not elaborate on the commercial strategy behind the choice. What the numbers show is that the group has ceased to operate a widely distributed network across the state and has moved to a much more concentrated physical presence, at least following the closures reported in August.
Closures change the presence of physical retail
The case of Casas Bahia occurs in a sector where physical stores increasingly coexist with online sales and other distribution methods. However, the report does not directly attribute the closures to e-commerce, and any such relationship would require additional information.
What can be asserted based on the data is that the network is diminishing its physical structure amidst losses and debt. The closure of 298 operations represents a significant transformation in the company’s size, regardless of other commercial strategies pursued concurrently.
Crisis combines financial results and operational reduction
The described scenario features three important indicators: losses of nearly R$ 1.1 billion, 298 stores closed, and 1,900 jobs eliminated.
These figures demonstrate that the crisis is producing both financial and operational effects simultaneously. This is not simply a matter of a single negative quarter in the balance sheet, as the company’s response is already manifesting materially in the reduction of the network and the workforce in different regions of Brazil.
Santa Catarina exposes the regional dimension of the restructuring
The closure of 18 stores turns Santa Catarina into a tangible example of the national reorganization of Casas Bahia. Instead of abstract numbers related to hundreds of points across the country, the state has seen its network shrink from 23 to five units.
Blumenau further highlights this effect as it lost all existing stores. The national crisis translates, at the municipal level, into closed doors, removed signage, halted operations, and reduced commercial presence of a traditional Brazilian retail brand.
Casas Bahia faces the challenge of reorganizing national operations
With almost R$ 1.1 billion (about US$215 million) in losses in just the first quarter of 2026 and hundreds of operations closed, Casas Bahia is undergoing a period of significant structural adjustment. The reduction in stores indicates that the company is directly addressing its physical presence while managing a scenario of high debt.
In Santa Catarina, the extent of this change became evident with the closure of 18 out of 23 units and the complete exit from Blumenau. In your opinion, do traditional retail chains still need to maintain large physical store structures, or is the reduction of these locations likely to become more common? Share your thoughts in the comments.
