Giraffas () is a Brazilian fast-food chain founded in August 1981 by two friends, Mauro Lacerda and Muniz Neto. Its first store located in

Lago Sul Lago Sul is an administrative region in the Federal District in Brazil. It is located on the south side of the eastern shore of Lake Paranoá, opposite Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the F ...

, in the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

. In 1991, the chain began franchising, and it has since expanded across Brazil. It has also opened in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and in Miami in the United States.

History

Giraffas-Restaurant in Shopping-Mall Iguatemi (21928011420)

The company experienced difficulties after the implementation of the Real Plan. With the fall in inflation, earnings decreased and the model used by the partners proved to be unviable soon, as the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

. In 1996, due to financial crisis, the chain was sold to three friends of the owners: Felipe Barreto, Luciana Morais e Luciana Vasconcelos. The trio, completely inexperienced in the business, invested in the franchise system to grow and in 1998 undid the ten unique shops in possession of the company inherited from the former administration. In 2002, the chain had the highest growth proportional in the national segment, and in 2003 the chain achieved 21% growth, opening the first stores in the states of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

and Paraná. In 2004 and 2005, the company's main focus was the diversification of products, including a Giraffas ice cream kiosk. In 2005 was opened the first store in the town of

Barreiras Barreiras is a city located in the west of the state of Bahia, Brazil. It is the most important urban, political, technological and economic center of the western region of the state. Its Economy of Brazil, economy is based on livestock raising an ...

, in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

. In 2006, the chain celebrated 25 years with a festival of local rock bands in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, called Giraffestival. At the same time the company reached the milestone of 200 stores throughout Brazil and inaugurated the first stores in

Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...

and

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

. In 2006 was also launched the Trio RBD, a special offer with gifts from the Mexican band

RBD RBD is a Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's telenovela ''Rebelde''. The group achieved international success from 2004 until their separation in 2009 and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of ...

. In 2007, is opened the first store in the state of

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

. Giraffas opened its first international store in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Giraffas plans to open five stores in the country by 2011 and fifty stores in ten years. In addition to this store in the United States that premiered in 2010, Giraffas invested in a new international store in

Ciudad del Este Ciudad del Este (, Spanish for Eastern City; often shortered as CDE) is the second-largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. It is located 327 km from Asunción, the capital, and is a ...

which debuted in 2011. In Brazil the chain is now compared with other major fast-food chains like

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

and

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

References

External links

Giraffas website

Giraffas USA website
{{Food chains in Brazil Fast-food chains of Brazil Companies based in Brasília Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1981 Brazilian brands 1981 establishments in Brazil

History

See also

References

External links