Samuel Klein (businessman)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel Klein
Born (1923-11-15) November 15, 1923
Zaklików, Poland
Residence São Paulo, Brazil
Citizenship Polish and Brazilian
Years active 1952-present
Known for Founding Casas Bahia, philanthropy
Net worth Increase $835 million (2013)
Religion Jewish

Samuel Klein (born 15 November 1923) is a Polish-Brazilian business magnate and philanthropist who founded the Casas Bahia chain of department stores in Brazil, building them into the top retailer in the country. This along with his tendency to use massive warehouses for his goods, including the largest single warehouse in South America, led him to be known in the 1990s as the "Sam Walton of Brazil".[1]

Through Casas Bahia, Klein's family became one of the wealthiest families in Brazil. In 2013, Forbes ranked him 78th richest person in Brazil with a personal net worth of $835 million, while his son, Michael Klein, was ranked 87th with $723 million.[2]

Life and work

Early life

Klein was born in Zaklików, the third of nine children. At 19, Klein worked as a joiner at the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland in World War II, when he was taken to the Maidanek concentration camp along with his father. His mother and five younger siblings were sent to the extermination camp of Treblinka.[3] He was later transported to Auschwitz in 1944. He escaped from the soldiers on July 22; in his own words, "I didn't know where I was going, but I was certain to get far from the group." He spent the night in the fields, where some Christian Polish fugitives helped him flee. He managed to return to his old house, which was ruined, and worked on a small farm in the area in exchange for food.[4]

After the war, he met his sister Sezia and brother Solomon (who live today in New York). The Klein brothers went to Germany, and were able to find their father alive. Klein lived in Munich until 1951, where he met Chana, his future wife. In addition to his siblings who live in New York, Klein also has family in Boston including Victor Asher Greenstein who works in finance in Boston.[5]

Brazil and Casas Bahia

Klein's father went to Brazil, together with his sister Esther. He himself wanted to emigrate to the United States, but the immigration quota was full. So he joined his father and sister, making his way to Brazil via Bolivia, and settled with his family in São Caetano do Sul in greater São Paulo.

In 1952, he began working as a peddler, selling sheets, tablecloths, and towels door to door using a buggy.[6] After five years, in 1957, he had enough capital to open his first shop in downtown São Caetano do Sul, which he called "Casa Bahia". The name was an homage to his patrons, the majority of whom were migrant workers from the northeast state of Bahia. Today, there are more than 500 of these stores with over 23 million customers,[7] making Casas Bahia the largest warehouse distributor in Latin America. Casas Bahia is a recipient of a number of awards in recognition of its retail excellence.[8]

Economic success and recent work

The rapid growth of the organization, and Klein's role in building it into a regional economic force were the subject of one of the case studies in C. K. Prahalad's Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.[9]

Klein guarded the company's finances, keeping control of all expenses within his immediate family, although in 1997 he opened the company's books to the public to secure promissory notes for the year.[1]

Klein later passed control of Casas Bahia to his son Michael, who was its CEO as of 2009, and retired in Brazil.

In 2009, Samuel Klein sold Casas Bahia to Grupo Pão de Açúcar. Via Varejo was soon formed through the mergers of Casas Bahia with Ponto Frio and Extra Eletro, both owned by Grupo Pão de Açúcar. The Klein family owns a 47% stake in Via Varejo, which is worth $2 billion today.[10] Since 2010, Michael has served as the chairman of Via Varejo, while Michael's son, Raphael Oscar Klein, is a member of the board of directors.[11]

In May 2013, it was announced that the Klein family was planning to sell 16% of their stake in Via Varejo.[12] 53.7 million common shares of the family's stake have began trading on December 16, 2013.[13]

In September 2013, Klein's 81.1 million shares of Via Varejo (25.1% stake) have been transferred to his heirs.[14][15]

In December 2013, Via Varejo raised R$ 2.845 billion through a public offering of shares. Three quarters of the amount raised went to the Klein family, while the rest went to GPA.[16] Ownership of the company has changed to GPA with 43.3%, the Klein family with 27.3%, and minority shareholders with 29.3%.[17]

In a compilation of the 60 most powerful people of Brazil, iG ranked Klein 19th.[18]

Charity

Samuel Klein continues to be an philanthropist. The systematic murder of 6 million Jews in Europe by Nazis has weighed heavily on his mind and led him to be at the forefront of the establishment and strengthening of many Jewish organizations in São Paulo where he lives. He is the largest annual donor to Chabad/Lubavitch's boys' school and Lubavitch Yeshiva (estimated at ~$500,000 per year ) in the Bom Retiro neighborhood. In 2007 he also purchased the large property for the two schools, which had been previously paying rent. He is also a major donor to the Renaissance School. In recent years he has given an excess of $20 million to a wider range of those in need both in São Paulo and abroad. This included assisting young people in São Paulo with grants to set up small businesses.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 From the International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 75 by Robert Halasz (2004)
  2. ↑ Antunes, Anderson (9 September 2013). "The Richest People In Brazil 2013: The Full List". Forbes. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  3. ↑ Miriam Jordan. (Jun 11, 2002). "Down Market: A Retailer in Brazil Has Become Rich By Courting Poor --- Payments of $14 a Month Add Up for Samuel Klein, Sao Paulo's Sam Walton." Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y. pg. A.1.
  4. ↑ "Samuel Klein", Casas Bahia. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Prominent members of the Klein family living outside of Brazil." https://www.facebook.com/GreensteinCapital
  6. ↑ Mac Margolis. "Profit and the Poor". (July 19, 2004). Newsweek, p. 42.
  7. ↑ Michael Kepp. "Greased lightning: Casas Bahia aims low and sells fast to grow in Brazil's challenging retail space." (July 1, 2006). Revista Latin Trade, July 1, 2006; retrieved via accessmylibrary.com October 29, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Awards and Recognition", Viavarejo, 28 January 2013. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.
  9. ↑ C. K. Prahalad. Casas Bahia: Retail for the poor (via Google Books) in The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits. Wharton School Publishing, 2009. p.207-218. ISBN 978-0-13-700927-5
  10. ↑ Coffey, Brendan & Cuadros, Alexander (15 March 2012). "Hidden Billionaires in Plain Sight Emerge As Stocks Rise". Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Management and Board of Directors", Viavarejo. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Jelmayer, Rogerio (14 June 2013). "Brazil Durable Goods Retailer Via Varejo Plans Share Offers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Brazil's Pao de Acucar, Klein family to sell Via Varejo shares". Reuters. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Marinelli, Luciana (9 September 2013). "Família Klein confirma reorganização societária na Via Varejo". Valor. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  15. ↑ Ayres, Marcela (10 September 2013). "Família Klein reorganiza participação societária na Via Varejo". Reuters Brasil. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Ações da Via Varejo estreiam em alta na Bovespa". UOL (São Paulo). 16 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Corporate Governance". Via Varejo. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  18. ↑ "Samuel Klein". iG (São Paulo). 24 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.

Further reading

(Portuguese)

Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.