Brasil Y Su Situacion Economica

Reshaping Brazil’s Retail Scene, Inspired by Vegas and Vanderbilt

By SIMON ROMERO

BRUSQUE, Brazil — As Brazil’s leaders consider whether consumption should be an antidote for a sluggish economy, a department store tycoon is racing ahead with his answer, taking unfettered American-style consumerism to a gaudy new level.

Proclaiming the gambling mecca Las Vegas as his ideal city, the tycoon, Luciano Hang, has been opening department stores this year at a pace of one every 15 days, from southern Brazil to the Amazon in the northwest. Each cavernous new structure is an homage to American capitalism, with columns intended to evoke the White House and giant replicas of the Statue of Liberty, some more than 100 feet high, stationed at its entrance.

“My philosophy is pro-capitalism, so of course the best symbols for this come from the United States,” said Mr. Hang, who flies around Brazil on a Learjet to visit the nearly 60 stores in his chain, called Havan. “I tell people that we’re about freedom: the freedom to stay open when we choose, the freedom to work for us and the freedom to shop,” he added. “I know this can be controversial, but I think those who disagree with my approach are few and far between.”

Indeed, consumers seem to agree, lured by the low prices and wide selection, if not the theme-park novelty. Inside his flagship store in Brusque, for instance, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, shoppers stop to take pictures of themselves alongside replicas of a red Ferrari and a pink Corvette.

But some economists question whether Brazil should rely on consumption to revive the economy, a pattern fueled by a surge in credit from government banks, at a time when household debt levels have already hit a record high. One giant state-controlled financial institution, Caixa Econômica Federal, even allows heavily indebted customers a “breather” in meeting obligations, so they can amass more debt.

Instead, those economists say, the authorities should do more to support investment by businesses in areas like factories and infrastructure, by streamlining a devilishly complex bureaucracy and tax system. Measured as a percentage of the economy, Brazil’s investment rate ranks lower than Argentina’s and Mexico’s.

Inspired by the shop-till-you-drop culture he witnessed on dozens of trips to the United States, Mr. Hang, a lanky 50-year-old who dresses casually in jeans off the shelves of his own stores, thinks that such consumption suits Brazil just fine. “I’ll have 100 stores by 2015, and double that amount a few years later,” he said.

Not everyone agrees that mimicking American consumerism, or planting Statues of Liberty in dozens of cities across the country, is the best path.

“It’s a type of colonialism,” said Henrique Perazzi de Aquino, 53, a history teacher in Bauru, São Paulo State, where he and other residents recently formed a movement to oppose a statue in front of a new Havan store. “We are still dependent on this North American culture. We could like ourselves more.”

As an alternative, he proposed a monument to Eny’s Bar, a renowned local brothel once frequented by politicians and writers. But in the end, Mr. Hang got his way, emphasizing that Havan’s arrival in Bauru would create 200 jobs. Another Statue of Liberty went up.

Mr. Hang said he was well aware that his embrace of American-style consumerism stands in contrast to the current mood in parts of Brazil, where leaders are fuming over revelations that the National Security Agency spied on President Dilma Rousseff.

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