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Anderson Birman got it right with a Wedge model for the female audience, and Alexandre, who at 13 already mastered shoe manufacturing, founded Schutz in 1995, took command in 2013, and doubled the company before merging with Grupo Soma
Few Brazilian families carry a surname so tied to a product as the Birmans to shoes. According to InfoMoney, Arezzo was founded in 1972 by Anderson Birman in Belo Horizonte, starting with artisanal production in the family’s garage and suffering losses in the first two years until success came with the Wedge model, aimed at the female audience.
Half a century later, the garage business turned into a giant: the company led by his son, Alexandre Birman, merged in 2024 with Grupo Soma, giving rise to Azzas 2154, a holding with more than 30 brands and about 2,000 stores, according to Suno. Along the way, there was a son competing with the father, a historic IPO, and a pandemic that almost emptied the cash register.
The boy who at 13 already knew how to make an entire shoe
The heir did not grow up in the office, he grew up in the factory. Alexandre Café Birman, born in Belo Horizonte in 1976, mastered the entire shoe manufacturing process at 13 and, at 17, went to study shoemaking in a technical course in Italy, according to InfoMoney. The middle name, Café, came from a great-grandmother who was a coffee grower, as if the country’s economic history ran through the family’s name.
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At 21, he used a $40,000 family loan to start a stationery brand in Brazil; today, BRW earns $48 million annually, has 20,000 sales points, and holds 11 patents, including a highlighter with lip gloss to appeal to teens.
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Instead of waiting for his father’s chair, he created his own: in 1995, at 18, he founded Schutz, which initially targeted the male audience and switched to female in 1999, until opening the first store on Oscar Freire, in São Paulo, in 2009, according to InfoMoney. Father and son built competing brands before bringing them together under the same roof.
The union of brands, Tarpon, and the IPO on the father’s birthday
Professionalization came in calculated stages. The manager Tarpon invested R$ 76.3 million for 25% of the company in the structuring of Arezzo&Co, and the IPO took place on February 2, 2011, Anderson’s birthday, with the share priced at R$ 19, at the top of the range, raising R$ 565.8 million and rising almost 12% on the first day, according to InfoMoney. The shoe company from the Minas Gerais garage became a darling of the stock market.
From then on, the shares would accumulate a rise of about 300% since the debut, with the market rewarding a rare model in Brazilian retail: strong brands, lean factory, and disciplined expansion through franchises and own stores.
The son takes over, studies at Harvard, and doubles the company
The succession was prepared as a project. Alexandre took over as CEO in 2013, after attending an advanced management course for presidents at Harvard, and under his leadership, the company practically doubled, reaching R$ 1.6 billion in net revenue, R$ 162 million in profit, 14.5 million pairs sold, 750 physical stores, and more than 2,700 points of sale by 2019, according to InfoMoney. The heir proved he was not just an heir.
In the same period, he multiplied the portfolio, launching brands like Anacapri, at an affordable price, and closing in 2019 the exclusive distribution of the American Vans in Brazil, for R$ 50 million, the first non-organic move of the company in almost 50 years, according to InfoMoney. The house of one brand became a platform of many.
The pandemic that wiped out 90% of revenue
The trial by fire came in March 2020. With the closure of stores during the pandemic, 90% of the company’s revenue disappeared, and the response was a digital turnaround in record time, with sales migrating to the website, WhatsApp, and Instagram, according to InfoMoney. The company that thrived on physical displays learned to sell through messaging in a matter of weeks.
The crisis ended up accelerating the transformation that was already in the plan: digital ceased to be an accessory channel and became a permanent muscle of the operation, paving the way for the boldest move in the company’s history.
The merger that created a giant of 30 brands
The current chapter has reshaped Brazilian fashion retail. In 2024, the Birman company joined the Soma Group, owner of some of the most valuable clothing brands in the country, giving rise to Azzas 2154, a holding company with over 30 brands and about 2,000 stores, according to Suno. Footwear and clothing, two worlds that have always been separate in national retail, now respond to the same group.
For the consumer, the effect is invisible and gigantic at the same time: a good part of the shopping mall windows he walks past now belong to the same company. For the market, it’s the bet that scale and portfolio are the ultimate defense in a retail squeezed by interest rates and international competition.
The half-century lesson: each generation refounds the company
The Birman family’s history teaches something rare about longevity in business. Anderson founded, made mistakes for two years, succeeded with Anabela, and built the brand; Alexandre didn’t manage the inheritance, created a competitor at 18, brought method, doubled the company, and merged it into a larger group: each generation treated the business as something to be refounded, not just maintained. It’s the antidote against the rule that says the third generation destroys what the first built.
From the garage in Minas Gerais to the holding company of 2,000 stores, the Birman shoe has crossed half a century always one step ahead.
Tell us in the comments: did you know that Arezzo and Schutz were born from father and son competing with each other, and do you think heirs should start by creating their own business?
