Fashion retailer blames end of blouse tax for job losses in the sector

Fashion retailers accounted for the end of the blouse tax due to the drop in jobs in the sector in September. On the eve of Black Friday and Christmas, two of the main sales dates, Abvtex (Brazilian Textile Retail Association) demands urgency in reviewing the measure, as promised by the government, according to the entity.

The sector is already under pressure due to the macroeconomic situation of high debt among the population, which has been buying less. Added to this, international competition has diverted consumption from Brazilians to foreign platforms, especially Chinese ones.

Lojas Renner, for example, announced this Thursday (5) that it will withdraw its revenue growth projections for 2026 and for the period from 2027 to 2030, due to these factors.

In September, retail lost 46,400 jobs, according to data from Caged (General Register of Employed and Unemployed) released this week by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). In total, taking into account all sectors, it was the worst September in the creation of formal jobs in the historical series.

According to Abvtex, 34.9 thousand of the retail job losses are in the clothing and accessories trade and 11.5 thousand in the footwear trade.

The entity also recalls that the IBGE also pointed to declines in the sector's sales of 3.6% in May, 2.8% in June, 1.5% in August and 3.9% in September. Meanwhile, the volume of international remittances processed by the Conforming Remittance Program grew 86.1% in the post-exemption period, compared to 2025, according to the association, which cited data from the Federal Revenue Service.

With interest rates at high levels — the country's basic interest rate, the Selic, was maintained at 13.75% per year this Wednesday (4) — and a population in debt, the sector is losing sales to Asian e-commerces, such as Shein, Aliexpress and Shopee, which offer prices below the national market.

The entity is demanding from the government a reassessment for this year of the tax on blouses, which taxed purchases from abroad of up to US$50 (R$275) — a range that affects, above all, individuals. The measure was extinguished in May this year. The sector wants to take advantage of sales on Black Friday and Christmas.