Brazil’s JHSF is further diversifying its luxury empire on Saturday with the opening of its first department store — CJ Fashion.
Situated within JHSF’s Shopping Cidade Jardim mall in São Paolo, the department store is the latest addition to the conglomerate’s holistic approach, which caters to the affluent with designer stores, shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, condos, houses, office towers, surf clubs and a private airport.
At more than 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) across three levels, CJ Fashion is smaller than department stores around the world, yet still qualifies for the label given the breadth of categories and brands it carries. The assortment leans to luxury goods from around the world and encompasses fashion, jewelry, beauty, accessories, gastronomy, furniture and books. Altogether there are about 150 brands, though the price range is broad.
After heady expansion from the late 19th century through the 1980s, department stores in North America began consolidating given the sheer number of stores in operation and the rising consumer preference for specialty concepts and online shopping. The big-box format, however, remains popular in Asia and certain Western countries such as Mexico.
Still, the department store has a strong hold on the fashion psyche and JHSF sees plenty of opportunity.
“Over the years, we studied the possibility of bringing major department stores and international multibrand retailers to Brazil and concluded that developing our own would be more appealing to our customers,” said Augusto Martins, JHSF’s chief executive officer, in an interview. “At JHSF, every project is based on an extensive study of the world’s leading references and best-performing operations. We take what works well abroad, refine the model, and adapt it to Brazil — the assortment, the atmosphere and, above all, Brazilian service, which is unreplicable.”
Martins said CJ Fashion began as an e-commerce platform by Shopping Cidade Jardim, the first launched by a Brazilian mall. “We were also the first mall to discontinue its e-commerce operation, and in both cases competitors followed suit. After the pandemic, people again began prioritizing social, sensory and personalized experiences, so we transformed CJ Fashion into Brazil’s leading private shopper service. Within six months, sales through the service matched those of the e-commerce operation, at a fraction of the cost. We realized that 80 percent of purchases ended with customers messaging private shoppers for ideas and suggestions. They wanted to be accompanied throughout the process. The service and demand for this personalized attention, and, above all, the curation of brands and products by our team increased so significantly that we decided to turn it all into a three-story store, designed around what our customers told us they wanted.”
He said CJ Fashion represents “a new model for department stores — a compact format focused on curation. We prefer a store where every piece has been chosen with intention. This format allows us to offer customers a more personalized and intimate experience.”
The department store does not own its inventory. “The retailers hold the stock,” said Martins. “Our role was to curate the brands and products and implement the service and customer care, creating the atmosphere of a department store within a healthy business model. Exceptions include certain collaborations and brands we bring to the country for the first time.”
Ana Auriemo, the project leader for development of CJ Fashion, said, “CJ Fashion was born from the idea of bringing together, under one roof, everything our clients had been seeking, store by store, over the years, guided by our private shoppers.”
And Renata Queiroz de Moraes, the fashion curator for the store, added: “For us, curation is about creating encounters that could happen nowhere else — a French maison alongside a Brazilian jeweler, the classic and the contemporary sharing the same space. Our clients live this way, with freedom and experimentation, and we wanted an address that reflected exactly that.”
The first floor houses an international array of luxury brands, including Balmain, Brunello Cucinelli, Isabel Marant and Fusalp, as well as Latin America’s first Tom Ford Beauty shop. Brazilian fashion and jewelry labels include Paula Raia, Alexandre Furmanovich and Cris Ruas. Assouline, the publisher of oversized books on art, fashion, design, travel and lifestyle, provided about 1,500 books to establish its first stand-alone location in Brazil. Among the other brands featured are Proenza Schouler, Zimmermann and Victoria Beckham.
Select “guest” brands temporarily occupy dedicated spaces through CJ Fashion’s “Special Residencies” program. The initial lineup is made up of Brazilian creators, including jeweler Fernando Jorge, “By Grace” hand-painted porcelain pieces by Gracinha Carvalho, and Lucas Recchia furniture and decorative objects in bronze, glass and stone.
There are three restaurants on separate floors: Café Villa Piva with a menu for well-being, Balsamico CJ Fashion inspired by old Palm Beach cuisine, and Café Birman for breakfast and light afternoon bites.
The second floor of CJ Fashion houses 40 national and international brands organized by category, from occasion wear and resortwear to athleisure, accessories and lifestyle products, with an edit of Brazilian home, design and gifting brands.
There is also the “CJ Mares” multibrand concept on the mezzanine displaying Zimmermann, Victoria Beckham, Oscar de la Renta, Elie Saab, Etro, La DoubleJ, Destree, Missoni, Nili Lotan, Magda Butrym, Proenza Schouler and Stella McCartney, among others. The presentation extends to Brazilian stationery, gifts, homeware and jewelry brands including Fine Prints, MH Studio, Paper House, Dipa Farm and Ju Scarpa, as well as international additions such as Borsalino, Monies, Sermoneta and Olympia Le-Tan.
On level three, there’s footwear, handbags and accessories, bringing together Maison Faebelle, Aquazzura, Fratelli Rossetti, Gianvito Rossi, Glorinha Paranaguá, René Caovilla and others.
The accessories area at CJ Fashion.
The department store was designed by Carolina Proto of the architecture firm Estúdio Obra Prima. The walls feature works by Brazilian and Latin American artists, in partnership with Simões de Assis gallery.
“Despite the scale of the project, we sought to create intimate environments, with proportions and an atmosphere closer to those of a residence than a commercial space, making every customer feel welcomed and as though they were being given an exclusive experience,” Proto said. “Each department has its own function and identity, yet they all connect through a cohesive design language. One of the main elements that ties the spaces together is a series of large, organically shaped rugs, which appear throughout the store and change color according to each department. We retained part of the existing structure, but completely transformed its character through the use of natural materials, warm and inviting textures, and a sophisticated, contemporary and timeless aesthetic.”
On the service side, CJ Fashion has what officials call an “integrated model for a more seamless, efficient and personalized journey” so the store is manned by specialists trained to assist shoppers through multiple categories and brands, and rigged with a unified checkout system enabling all purchases to be completed at a single point.
The JHSF name is derived from the first-name initials of the brothers José and Fábio Auriemo, and their business partners, Henrique Falzoni and Silvio Sandoval, who together cofounded the São Paolo-based company in 1972.
Asked if JHSF is considering opening additional department stores, Martins said the focus is on partnering with luxury brands opening franchises in Latin America, including Alaïa, Loro Piana, Tiffany and Chanel soon coming to Shopping Cidade Jardim.
“Our first franchise operation was Hermès, which we brought to Brazil. Today, we operate Celine, Alaïa, Gianvito Rossi, Aquazzura, Zimmermann, Isabel Marant, Chloé and Balmain, among others,” said Martins. “Over time, some brands take over their own operations and continue in Brazil, which makes us very proud. We are a hub for those seeking to enter a market with very specific logistical and tax challenges, but with an enormous passion for fashion.
“But, yes, the CJ Fashion model was designed to be replicated in other JHSF developments and, above all, in other countries.”
The Assouline library at the CJ Fashion department store.
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