Businessman Mario Adler died on Friday, 30, in Sao Paulo, at the age of 86, of an unveiled cause. Adler made toys star one of the largest industries in the country and was responsible for implementing Children’s Day in Brazil, one of the most important dates for industry and retail.
The star was founded by his parents, German immigrants Sigfried and Lizelote Adler. With the rise of Nazism, they migrated to Brazil in 1937, without any money. Sigfried began selling bottle caps, “which found it very boring,” as Mario told the Israeli Confederation of Brazil (Conib).
A friend said there was a bankrupt cloth doll factory where he could help. It was Estrella, with two LL for the old spelling. He had four sewing machines and worked in a townhouse on a samba school. From there, the family created what would become the largest toy industry in the country.
It was under the hands of Mario that the star became an icon, with the products most desired by children for decades. Business leader, he also had a frequent presence in the dialogue with the government in the 1980s and 1990s, defending industry guidelines. With the opening of the Brazilian market to imported products during the Collor government, the star had difficulties until he was sold to businessman Carlos Tilkian.
Children’s Day creator, Adler said in an interview with Estadão in 2010 that the success of the date was unexpected. “We believed it would be an interesting marketing action to increase the business, but we had no idea of the importance it would acquire over time,” he said. Last year, retail sold R $ 9.35 billion on the date, according to the National Trade Confederation (CNC).
According to Adler, the initial idea with Children’s Day was to reduce industry dependence on Christmas. He even considered celebrating Children’s Day in the first half, changing the seasonality of the sector, extremely dependent on the second half of the year. This was not forward, as there was already a law, from the time of President Arthur Bernardes, officializing October 12 as the day of the little ones (which never caught, by the way).
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The initiative began to be managed in the mid -1960s by the star, at the time the largest national toy manufacturer. Before her, Johnson & Johnson had had a similar idea, proposing the creation of Robust Baby Day, to stimulate sales of his disposable diapers. “But it didn’t take off and they gave up,” said Adler, who decided to send the proposal. It was not easy, he said, in the interview in 2010.
Mappin, Mesbla and other icons
In the first year, despite their efforts to convince the great retailers of Sao Paulo, such as Americanas, Mesbla and Mappin, to participate and share the expenses of a joint institutional campaign, the star had to play all expenses. “The class did not believe much that it could work and decided to wait to see what was happening,” said Adler, in the interview in 2010. With the good results obtained by the solo campaign, the resistances were eventually won. “Then the thing unleashed,” he said.
More than that. What was initially to be a day focused only on the toy industry products ended up spreading through the other categories of retail, from clothing to electronics, from footwear to cell phones.
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Discreet, Adler said at the time not expecting recognition for his successful marketing play. “My reward is to see a child smiling at having earned a gift on his day,” he said.
After selling the star in 1993, Adler dedicated himself to philanthropy at Albert Einstein Hospital as a representative in Sao Paulo at the University of Tel Aviv, and in the Israeli Congregation Paulista, in which he became president. He was also director, donor and member of the Council of the Israeli Confederation of Brazil.
The funeral and burial were held on Saturday morning, 31, at the Israeli Cemetery of Butantã.
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Conib lamented, in a statement, Adler’s death. “Conib deeply regrets Mario Adler’s death and sympathizes with the family. He was a tireless entrepreneur in his activity, community leader and a major figure in philanthropy,” the entity wrote.
