National company focused on the marketing of sports articles, Grupo SBF, known until 2020 as Centauro, is one of the largest in the sector in the country. With physical stores in over 100 cities across Brazil, the company also sells its products through its online platform, via its website and app.
Its stock market entry dates back to 2019, the year in which its net revenue closed at R$ 2.5 billion. The company is also known for its sponsorships focused on sports and culture in the country, such as the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 and the FIFA World Cup 2014, where R$ 10 million was invested.
Currently, the group, in addition to being composed of the brand Centauro, which is the largest retailer of sports products in Latin America, also has in its portfolio:
Físia: The exclusive representative and distributor of Nike products in the country.
NWB: The largest network of digital channels focused on sports content in Brazil.
OneFan: A sportstech aimed at uniting sports and technology, performing the connection between fans and sports entities.
X3M: Specialized in organizing and live marketing of sports events;
FitDance: The largest national platform focused on dance.
Founded in 1981 in Minas Gerais by Sebastião Vicente Bomfim Filho, the company sought to meet a new market demand that was growing increasingly in Brazilian society: the search for articles in the sports segment.
In 2000, despite considerable resistance, the first Centauro store was inaugurated in a shopping center, at Shopping West Plaza, located in the city of São Paulo, SP. The growth was positive, so much so that by 2003 the company already had other stores in more than 10 cities across the country and began launching its digital platform. In 2009, the first physical store in the northern region of Brazil, in Amazonas, was opened, marking the group's presence in all five regions of the national territory.
By 2012, the company already had 233 physical stores, leading to a new step in the company's development: an investment partner was added, GP Investiment. In the following year, the digital platform was completely revamped, and a new distribution center was inaugurated in Jarinu, São Paulo, aiming to meet operational demand. In 2014, Centauro was one of the official sponsors of the World Cup in Brazil.
In 2015, a restructuring of its operations was carried out, focusing on reducing expenses and increasing productivity. Thus, 3 stores with the Generation 5 concept that seek to bring a new experience to consumers were inaugurated in the country in 2017. In the following year, 2018, the group already had 16 G5 stores, and 100% of its stores operated as small distribution centers.
2019 is marked by its entry into the stock market, an act that contributed to the group's growth, which inaugurated 18 more stores in the Generation 5 format in the same year and remodeled 9 traditional stores to the new format. In 2020, the company became the official distributor of Nike products in Brazil, in addition to being the exclusive retailer of the brand. For its part, 2021 began a new phase in the company, which began to be called Grupo SBF. In the same year, there was also the acquisition of Network Brasil, the largest sports content platform in the country.
