Bloomberg Línea — Empório Fasano, a 15-million-reais ($2.6 million) project, is the new enterprise of Grupo Fasano, in partnership with JHSF, and is distributed on three floors across more than 1,000 square meters in the heart of Jardins, in São Paulo.
The ‘boutique’ supermarket represents a new direction not only for one of the icons of Brazil’s luxury market, but of the retail segment as a whole in search of further growth.
The store, which opened its doors to the public Thursday, is focusing on what it describes as “a different experience than a supermarket”, geared toward the high-income public, but which could be a challenge in a business segment known for its tight margins.
The new enterprise represents a strategic step by Grupo Fasano beyond the high-end gastronomy and five-star and boutique hotels that established it as one of the major luxury brands in the country.
The store is a whole new business unit for the company.
The store’s niche is offering items that are hard to procure in Brazil, selected with detailed curatorship, according to the group’s plan, offering an experience that allows customers a sensory immersion in more than 4,000 products.
“Emporio will offer dedicated service on all floors, integrated by an industrial elevator, to drive the shopping experience, as well as tastings,” said Vanessa Sandrini, the director responsible for the operation alongside commercial manager Gaston Hamaoui.
According to restaurateur Gero Fasano, who is in charge of the day-to-day business of ensuring the store has that touch of excellence, the goal is to present novelties that will be found on future trips to further enhance the range of products available in the store.
The model of Empório Fasano may also be replicated in other branches.
“We will evaluate this new operation”, says Sandrini, and which will also entail evaluating the operation of Selezione Fasano, a store located at Shops Jardins, the JHSF shopping center on the city’s Haddock Lobo street, from which Empório was born.
Selezione represented the group’s entry into the retail segment, in late 2020, in a process that was important to “understand the operation as a whole,” Sandrini says.
Now, Selezione has been integrated into Empório “as a brand of products in partnership with small local producers”, she adds.
Valuing the local
In a project with a “slow” footprint, according to the company, which questions and values the history and origin of products, items are distributed in the store by theme and divided into different environments.
On the first floor there are fruits and vegetables grown by small producers, with traceability of origin and harvest data, in addition to fresh pasta handmade internally, as well as sauces, meats, frozen and refrigerated products.
On the second floor, the atmosphere is different, with wines, cheeses, imported items, and products from small domestic producers.
Finally, on the top floor are decoration and design objects and products inspired by the style and identity of the brand, as well as a coffee shop, a bakery, and an open-air terrace that accommodates at least 30 people.
“The intention was to give priority to small producers, bringing to the customers quality products, in an handcrafted and fresh way. The research was done in a meticulous way to privilege the best of what we produce here,” Sandrini said regarding the process of curating the products on offer.
She says the goal is also to bring Fasano products to the consumer’s daily life and home, through a different experience, which begins with what she describes as “a unique curatorial process in Brazil”, with the store offering more than 60 labels of exclusive wines, as well as sausages and cheeses, many of which are imported from different regions of the world.