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The inauguration of Havan’s new unit in Blumenau, this Saturday (9), brought together customers from Rio do Sul, Brusque, Corupá, Timbó, and Pomerode in a line that began to form before 5 AM. The enterprise occupies 14 thousand square meters and had an investment of approximately R$ 80 million.
The most talked-about retail inauguration in Santa Catarina this weekend took place under rain and low temperatures in the Itajaí Valley. The new Havan megastore in Blumenau opened its doors this Saturday (9) and was welcomed by a crowd who braved the early morning to secure a spot in line.
According to NDMais, businessman Luciano Hang defined the enterprise as the most different store in the chain in the country, a description that matches the architectural project inspired by the half-timbered (enxaimel) style, traditional to German culture in the region. The unit is located on Rua das Palmeiras, a tourist spot in the city, and its parking lot was full throughout Saturday morning.
Line since dawn and visitors from several cities
The movement started well before dawn. Dozens of customers lined up starting at 4:30 AM, deciding to sleep poorly or simply not sleep to secure the first spots at the entrance of the new unit.
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Other visitors arrived around 6:40 AM, still at a time when many people are just getting ready to leave home. The movement reinforced Blumenau’s vocation as a regional consumption hub, attracting people from various cities in the region for the opening event.
The list of origins among the first customers is impressive. There were reports of people coming from Rio do Sul, Corupá, Brusque, Pomerode, and Timbó, in displacements that involved dozens of kilometers through the rainy dawn of inland Santa Catarina.
This type of flow is usually rare at retail inaugurations, especially with unfavorable weather and unusual timing. For the company, it’s a direct reflection of the curiosity the project aroused since the architectural plans were made public in the months leading up to the opening.
What differentiates this megastore from other Havan units
The most visible feature of the new unit is precisely its facade. Instead of the traditional white house model with columns that became the network’s trademark, the Blumenau store adopted lines inspired by the German half-timbered (enxaimel) style, with exposed beams and elements typical of the historic constructions of the Itajaí Valley.
Inside, the structure also impresses with its dimensions. Luciano Hang stated during the event that the megastore’s internal columns are approximately 20 meters high, a number that helps explain the feeling of spaciousness reported by the first visitors to enter the space.
The unit occupies approximately 14 thousand square meters, an area comparable to the largest physical stores in Brazilian retail. The total investment was around R$ 80 million, according to information released by the company itself in recent months.
The choice of the half-timbered (enxaimel) format responds to a long-standing local demand. Blumenau adopts the style as a visible cultural trait in the urban landscape, and aesthetic adaptations to this profile are usually well-received by residents and tourists who value the city’s Germanic heritage.
More than 350 thousand products and the debut of a new sector
The scale of the operation is also evident in the available product mix. The megastore brings together more than 350 thousand items distributed across sections such as home appliances, decor, bed, bath, and table, tools, toys, automotive, and household utilities.
A novelty caught the attention of traditional customers of the network in Blumenau. The unit debuted a sector dedicated to cosmetics and beauty, a segment absent in other stores of the retailer in the city until now.
This addition shows a category expansion movement that goes beyond Havan’s classic specialty. The cosmetics sector is traditionally contested by pharmacies and perfumeries, and the retailer’s entry into this market could reorganize part of local shopping.
Other categories maintain the network’s usual logic, with a broad mix and focus on volume. The combination of the store’s size, the number of products, and the architectural appeal forms a package designed to transform the unit into a shopping destination and also a tourist attraction.
Influencers and personalities livened up the inauguration
The opening event didn’t rely solely on spontaneous queues. The program featured the presence of influencers and personalities well-known to the Santa Catarina public, attracting an audience that mixes interest in shopping with curiosity about digital entertainment figures.
Names such as the Indavírus channel, with Gustavo Pórco and Lauro Antigo, as well as Alberto Mecânico and Sargento Junkes, were present. The presence of this group usually strongly engages the regional social media audience, multiplying the event’s reach far beyond those physically present in Blumenau.
The strategy follows a trend that has consolidated in Brazilian retail in recent years. Betting on well-known internet personalities usually guarantees spontaneous social media coverage and also attracts fans who travel on their own to meet these figures in person.
For Havan, the use of these local partners reinforces the idea of a store connected to the community. The choice of names linked to the Vale do Itajaí, instead of national celebrities, strengthens the company’s discourse on cultural adaptation to the territory where the unit is being inaugurated.
The megastore within the network’s expansion plan
The opening in Blumenau is not an isolated piece. It is part of Havan’s growth plan, which the company has been executing throughout 2026, the year it completes 40 years of operation in Brazilian retail.
The company’s declared goal for this milestone is significant. The network projects to reach 200 megastores spread across Brazil by the end of this cycle, a number that places Havan among the main physical retail chains in the country.
This accelerated pace comes amidst a scenario where many networks have reduced investments in physical stores, betting more on e-commerce. Havan’s choice to continue investing heavily in brick-and-mortar structures, even with a bold architectural format, goes against part of the trend observed in other segments.
The inauguration of the half-timbered unit functions, in this sense, as a symbolic showcase for the project. It shows that the company sees room to experiment with differentiated formats in cities where local cultural identity can become a direct marketing argument and attract concentrated regional flow.
The effect on the surroundings and the future of the venture
More than the inauguration itself, the opening tends to stir up the surroundings in the coming months. Rua das Palmeiras is an address with tourist significance in Blumenau, and the arrival of a half-timbered style megastore adds another hub to this region.
Neighboring businesses usually benefit from the flow generated by inaugurations like this. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other nearby stores tend to register an increase in revenue in the first weekends after the opening, an effect known in any city that receives a large-scale enterprise.
Havan itself already works with the idea that the unit will function as a complementary tourist attraction. The architectural appeal allows visitors to stop at the location even without the intention of buying, just to photograph the facade or explore the interior with its high columns.
It remains to be seen in the coming weeks if the enthusiasm registered this Saturday maintains a regular flow. The true test of consolidation will happen in months of ordinary movement, far from the novelty atmosphere that naturally accompanies any official opening day in Blumenau.
And you, would you travel from another Santa Catarina city to visit Havan’s first half-timbered style megastore, or do you think this type of event loses its charm after the first few weeks of activity?
Tell us in the comments if you were in the queue in the rain this Saturday, if you approved of the bet on a facade inspired by the German architecture of the Vale do Itajaí, and if you believe this model should be replicated in other cities with strong cultural identity across Brazil. The discussion helps to understand if regional retail truly benefits when it adopts local architectural features.
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