Brazil corporate debt hits R$80.6bn as court upholds VGB (Siberian, Crawford) bankruptcy

A Serasa Experian study of 24.8 million small and medium enterprises found that companies and their principal owners who are simultaneously delinquent hold R$80.6 billion in unpaid credit‑card and working‑capital obligations, despite representing only 5.5 % of firms. The analysis shows R$40.3 billion of the debt is concentrated where both the business and its main partner are in arrears, with the remainder split between credit‑card (R$25.3 billion) and working‑capital (R$15 billion) defaults. Cleber Genero, vice‑president of Small‑Medium Enterprises at Serasa Experian, said the findings “highlight the link between the financial health of the business and that of the entrepreneur.”

The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ‑SP) confirmed the bankruptcy of Grupo VGB, the owner of the Siberian and Crawford clothing brands, after the retailer failed to regularize its tax liabilities and repeatedly missed deadlines in its judicial recovery plans. The group, which operated 34 stores and employed 243 people, saw its recovery plan annulled for fiscal irregularities and was ultimately converted to bankruptcy, underscoring the challenges facing indebted Brazilian retailers.