Iguatemi’s CEO Ciro Neto on winning Dior and the race for Brazil’s luxury shopper

Brazil's luxury market is worth around 98 billion reais and could reach 150 billion by 2030, on Iguatemi's own estimates. Ciro Neto, who took over as chief executive officer in March 2025, wants the group to remain the door every international brand walks through to reach it.

"Brazil is a complex market, and what we offer international brands goes far beyond providing retail space. We have decades of knowledge about the Brazilian consumer and can help brands understand positioning, pricing, logistics, consumer behavior and, importantly, how to establish a meaningful long-term relationship with customers here," Neto told FashionUnited.

Iguatemi operates several international labels in Brazil, among them Polo Ralph Lauren, Birkenstock and Christian Louboutin, and has run brands until they were ready to set up alone, as it did with Balenciaga. "So when we say we are a gateway to Brazil, it is quite literal. We can help a brand understand the market, enter it and ultimately build a sustainable business here," he said.

According to Neto, the differential between Brazil and international markets now runs between zero and 25 percent. He also makes a case for customer relationships, saying they run deeper at home than abroad, because a Brazilian shopping in Paris often sits outside that brand's CRM, while in São Paulo the brand knows their profile, preferences and history.

The market numbers support his pitch. Iguatemi recorded 25 billion reais in sales in 2025 across a portfolio he puts at 15 shopping centres and two premium outlets.

"What satisfies me most is the quality of that performance and the confidence that brands continue to show in the Brazilian market. One particularly important development has been the performance of international brands. They have grown at double-digit rates within our portfolio for the past three to four years, at a pace above the domestic market. That tells us something important about the evolution of luxury consumption in Brazil," Neto said. He estimates Brazil's luxury market at around 98 billion reais today, with the potential to reach 150 billion by 2030, and regular luxury consumers rising from about one million to one and a half million.

Welcoming Dior

Dior opens at Iguatemi São Paulo in 2027, a deal Neto says took years to finalize. "With a maison at that level, it is never simply a conversation about available space. It is about trust, positioning, the customer, neighboring brands, architecture, service and the long-term strategy for Brazil," he said, adding that visiting luxury executives are often surprised by how closely Brazilian developments compare with the best in Asia.

Where brands get Brazil wrong, he said, is in reading it as a standard emerging market. "They sometimes underestimate both the sophistication of the Brazilian consumer and the maturity of the market. Our customers travel extensively. They know the global assortment, understand brands and expect the same quality of product, storytelling, architecture and service they experience in New York, Paris, Milan or London," he said.

Iguatemi has recently bought Shopping Rio Sul in Rio de Janeiro and Pátio Paulista in São Paulo, and is putting a reported 314.4 million reais into expanding Iguatemi Brasília by 15,500 square metres, more than 50 percent of the existing centre, with international brands already signed.

"We are very disciplined about capital allocation. At this stage, we do not have greenfield development on our radar. Our focus is on strengthening existing assets where we already understand the customer, the market and the potential demand," he said. "For us, expansion is never about adding square meters for the sake of adding square meters. It has to strengthen the entire asset, improve the customer experience and create opportunities to introduce brands and concepts that complement what is already there."

'We were not going to change Iguatemi's DNA'

Neto arrived in the job with the company already performing. He spent years at Iguatemi before a three-year spell at C&A, returning in 2023 as commercial vice president, and says the time away sharpened what he brought back. "I came back with an even greater appreciation for what makes the company unique, but also with fresh eyes. I understood more clearly the importance of speed, execution and staying very close to the customer," he said.

His opening move as chief executive was less about “one dramatic decision and more about establishing a very clear direction: we were not going to change Iguatemi's DNA," he said. "Iguatemi was already performing well, so my role was not to reinvent the company. It was to accelerate the things we already do exceptionally well while preparing the business for its next phase of growth."

Iguatemi marks 20 years as a listed company in 2027. By then, Neto wants a portfolio that reads as more than retail: the group opened Teatro Iguatemi in 2025, is building a rooftop at Iguatemi São Paulo, and is developing a mixed-use district in Campinas expected to house more than 50,000 residents.

"Our greatest competitive advantage is the depth of our relationship with the customer. Our One loyalty program alone has more than one million active clients... So the question is how we use our scale without becoming generic,” he said.