The former Leader store chain will have its brand put up for auction this Tuesday, in another chapter of the crisis faced by the retailer, which no longer has stores in operation. The brand is valued at R$719 million.
At the same time, the company has liabilities of more than R$1 billion, the majority of which is owed to the state of Rio.
The seizure was determined by the Rio de Janeiro Court, based on the decision handed down by the 11th Public Finance Court of Rio, headed by judge Claudio Augusto Annuza Ferreira.
The auction is scheduled for 12:20 pm, Brasília time, this Tuesday, and will be held through the “Portella Leilões” website, whose public auctioneer is Rodrigo Lopes Portella. If it does not attract interested parties, the retailer’s brand may be sold for half the price in a second auction on April 6, at the same time.
Payment may be made in cash or, at the discretion of the court and in accordance with the notice, within 15 days, with a deposit of 30%, in addition to the auctioneer’s commission and procedural costs.
The seizure of the Leader brand is an attempt to pay off the debts accumulated by the retailer, especially after non-compliance with the judicial recovery plan, a process that began in March 2020. The brand was presented as a type of guarantee in a term signed between the company and the state of Rio.
Continues after advertising
Considering only the tax debts already registered in the active debt, the company’s main CNPJ amounted to around R$693.3 million, according to a report from the State Attorney General’s Office with data updated until June 2022. The ICMS-related liabilities alone were already approaching R$944 million, according to the most recent data from February 2025.
Bankruptcy declared and debts to the state
With liabilities estimated at R$1.2 billion, Leader entered into judicial recovery in March 2020 and had its plan approved the following year. But the restructuring attempt was not sustained.
Continues after advertising
Between 2023 and 2024, the retailer faced difficulties in recovering amid inflation, the migration of consumption to e-commerce and the prolonged effects of the pandemic, which led to the gradual closure of stores and the accumulation of delays in payments and salaries.
In April 2025, the 3rd Business Court of Rio declared the company bankrupt, a process that was suspended by the Court of Justice of Rio (TJ-RJ), allowing it to remain under judicial recovery until the final judgment on the merits.
If the tax execution continues, the amounts collected at auction will go to the State coffers. In the event of consolidation of bankruptcy, the legal order of creditors will follow, with priority given to labor debts.
Continues after advertising
‘It’s already Christmas at Leader’
Founded in 1951, in Miracema, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, Leader stores, or Leader Magazine, was a traditional chain of department stores. The brand became well known for its presence in shopping malls and large shopping centers, especially in the Southeast region.
The chain has established itself by selling clothing, footwear and household items at affordable prices, a model that has brought it closer to the daily lives of millions of Brazilians.
Continues after advertising
Part of this collective memory was built through the retailer’s Christmas advertising campaigns that sang the jingle “It’s Christmas at Leader”, repeated year after year and incorporated into the imagination of Brazilian consumers, especially those in the Southeast region.
Behind the familiarity of the brand, however, the company faced a silent process of decline. In addition to changes in corporate control, the retailer suffered an increase in debt along with operational difficulties and, more recently, the pressure of e-commerce and the effects of the pandemic.
The brand, which for decades occupied storefronts and shopping mall corridors, has become its main asset to pay off debts, while the former retail giant tries to find an outcome to its crisis.
