Ipanema is a renowned Brazilian footwear brand that offers a wide range of styles, from flip- to sandals, often featuring colourful patterns and eco-friendly materials making them a staple choice for casual wear, beach outings, and everyday comfort. A Grendene brand since 2001, Ipanema has a worldwide presence, inspiring fashion and behaviour trends in the four corners of the globe.
Brand History
BFL Brandfolio boasts a solid reputation in the retail and distribution sectors, specialising in international brands spanning sports, fashion, and lifestyle footwear, along with associated apparel categories. With its headquarters situated in Dubai, the company caters to markets across the Middle East, Africa, CIS, and India.
Initially starting with Multi Brand Stores under the name ‘The Mix’, the company is now expanding its portfolio with the introduction of a Mono Brand Store for the renowned Brazilian brand ‘Ipanema’. The company is planning to expand Ipanema Stores across India in the current and coming years.
Key Differentiators
Ipanema stands out for its meticulous craftsmanship, maintaining strict quality standards with in-house design centres and factories located exclusively in Brazil. Sustainability is at the core of its ethos, with all products being vegan and 100% recyclable, catering to consumer preferences for eco-conscious choices. The brand’s commitment to innovation is evident in its broad range of offerings, with new designs and colours introduced each season.
Product Offerings
Ipanema offers a wide price range, making its products accessible to various budget points, ranging from Rs 999 to 3999. The brand caters to all genders. Its fastest-moving categories include sandals and slides, with nearly 200 SKUs available at any given time. Furthermore, the brand is introducing new categories including slides, along with its latest range of men’s Rider Energy Channel, set to launch soon.
Product Development
Ipanema prioritises consumer-centric design, leveraging insights from consumer behaviour and fashion trends across women’s, men’s, and children’s segments in their markets. International designers contribute to every Ipanema category and brand. The brand selects raw materials taking into account aspects of design and sustainability, ensuring that it keeps producing sustainably.
All Ipanema products are vegan and produced from 100% recycled materials. The quality of their products is ensured through technologies, numerous factory tests until the product reaches consumers, and years of expertise in the injected footwear market.
Innovation & Technology
Grendene has been designing its footwear using 3D software for years, something that optimises resources and puts the company ahead of other companies when it comes to development processes. Technological advancements have also been made in the incorporation of materials with lower impact on products, such as biobased EVA and biomaterials like algae and rice husks. Previously, Ipanema focused on manufacturing products from PVC. However, the brand has recently incorporated new materials, enhancing the comfort, lightness, and flexibility of its products
Brand Strategies
Ipanema’s market presence spans physical stores, online platforms, and various distribution channels, with plans to expand its store network across India. The brand leverages digital marketplaces, selling through platforms like Amazon & Myntra, Flipkart, Tata Cliq, and AJIO, and is planning to launch its e-commerce platform. Ipanema enhances the customer shopping experience and fosters engagement through social media channels. The brand has Shakira, the famous singer, as its brand ambassador
Expansion Plans
Ipanema is opening new stores across India, and Brandfolio plans to introduce more international brands to India, catering to the Indian consumers’ desire for fresh and new products.
Sustainability Initiatives
Ipanema is vegan and 100% recyclable. It practices responsible forest management. All its paper packaging is certiȃ ed by the Forestry Stewardship Council, ensuring that the raw material comes from responsibly managed forests. From raw materials to the details of their sandals, and even to its factory workers, everything is part of Ipanema’s sustainability journey
