Casas Bahia filed on August 16 a bankruptcy protection petition involving R$ 17.3 billion, one of the largest ever recorded in Brazilian retail. The company is not alone in this scenario. One day earlier, Marabraz had filed a similar petition worth R$ 140.2 million, and in May Tok&Stok also took the same path, after closing the second quarter with a loss of R$ 232.7 million and a 37.3% drop in revenue.
These cases are part of a broader crisis movement in the country's retail sector. According to Serasa Experian data, Brazil had 7,726 companies under bankruptcy protection as of June, representing a 20.5% increase compared to the previous twelve months. In the first half of the year alone, 986 retail companies filed for bankruptcy protection, a 20.4% increase year-on-year.
According to experts consulted for this article, the driver of the crisis is not sales, but the cost of credit. The Selic rate started 2026 at 15% per year and gradually declined over the months, reaching 14% in August, according to Central Bank data. Companies that accumulated debt since the high-interest cycle began in 2022 have faced growing difficulties meeting their financial commitments.
