Aiming to be IKEA Brazil - Oppa.com.br

Among the most dreaded experiences of any NYC young professional is a trip to IKEA Brooklyn.  Inevitably, the products you find in the showroom are not in the warehouse, the employees are uniformly unhelpful and it is an enormous hassle to get everything back to your Manhattan apartment.  But you endure it because it is the cheapest option around.

Recently-launched, Oppa – one of the most exciting businesses in Brazilian e-commerce – aims to improve on their model.  I recently chatted with Founder/CEO, Max Reichel, who told me that they aim to be the IKEA Brazil. Using all internally-designed and branded furniture, the company exclusively sells its products online (that's the key difference; no dreaded showroom).

The model works especially well in Brazil where furniture is astronomically expensive due to high import taxes.  The company cuts out the expensive stores and passes on the savings.  As an added incentive, the shipping is free and customers can pay in 10 installments - longer than is common in most other Brazilian e-commerce businesses (6 is the norm).

Max told me his challenge has been to convince customers to buy big ticket items online without first touching the fabric and seeing the design.  To overcome these concerns and build buzz, the company is planning to use pop-up stores. His first was in a ritzy area of Sao Paulo at the Audi Showroom on Rua Colombia and they are expecting to launch another soon.




1st Pop Up Store



Check out the slick site - oppa.com.br

P.S. MT Performance, a premium content and advertising network, just received a big investment to fund their expansion in Brazil.  Check out the press release here