In the clash between the two main partners of Azzas 2154, Roberto Jatahy won the first round. As reported by NeoFeed , Judge Simone Gastesi Chevrand, of the 7th Business Court of Rio de Janeiro, granted Jatahy's request and ordered Birman to refrain from any action that could lead to the disintegration of Reserva, the reason for the injunction.
But the battle is far from over, and its outcome may be different. According to sources consulted by NeoFeed , splitting the company is an increasingly plausible hypothesis to resolve the conflict. Jatahy has already admitted to this solution. Birman, however, is reportedly unwilling to discuss it at the moment.
“I think that’s one way… a split. Birman isn’t comfortable doing that right now,” says a source, who claims that this conversation isn’t on the table or close to happening at this moment. First, it’s necessary to find a viable alternative for mediating the conflict between the partners.
“Jatahy has always yielded on everything and wants to have the voice that was promised with the merger and not continue being run over by Birman's unilateral management,” says another source. “That's why he opted for the precautionary measure. His intention is to reach a consensus. This fight is not in the interest of either of them. The shares are plummeting.”
Azzas' shares closed today's trading session down 3.29%, quoted at R$ 19.40. Year-to-date, the shares have accumulated a drop of almost 23%, and over the past 12 months, nearly 51%, valuing the company at R$ 3.91 billion.
Birman's unilateral decision to transfer Reserva to the Blumenau unit, where Hering is located, was, in fact, the last straw for Jatahy, leading him to seek arbitration. Frustrated with attempts to avoid conflict, he wanted an operational rationale for this change. Which, to his surprise, there was none – only a breakdown in alignment between the partners on how to execute the integration.
"It took 10 months of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears for us to be able to extract 116 million in EBITDA," he told close associates.
At stake was a 10-month effort to integrate the Reserve, involving contracted consulting and difficult decisions that resulted in a mapping of synergies ranging from R$ 80 million to R$ 116 million per year.
This work had been handled by Ruy Kameyama, a seasoned market executive, who was Jatahy's representative on the Azzas 2154 board and agreed to return to management for a collaborative effort.
The idea was for Kameyama to act as the interface with the holding company, leaving Jatahy to handle the creative side, thus easing tensions between the partners. Initially, it worked, and the business progressed.
"To the point that Kameyama proposed a structure like Itaúsa's, where he would have total freedom, with two completely separate companies that combined results. And Birman responded that they would do it that way," the source recounts.
But it was in the midst of developing this governance model, when conflicts seemed to be a thing of the past, that Birman began to interfere directly in the Reservation - and in Kameyama's work.
"Birman put Kameyama in his place, saying that he was interfering in corporate matters, that he was a company executive and that he didn't have to get involved in corporate issues. And Kameyama got really upset," says the source.
In that context, Kameyama left the group in April. Subsequently, Azzas announced that it would again divide its operations between the Fashion & Lifestyle Women unit, headed by Jatahy, and the Fashion & Lifestyle Men unit, led by David Python, CEO of the Basic and Shoes & Bags divisions.
“Birman chose to unilaterally dismantle an organization approved in 2025 by studies and the board. And he even removed the Reserve from that umbrella,” says a source. “He simply trampled the board and went over everyone else’s head.”
On the other hand, since the merger, Jatahy has noticed an environment with high management turnover and frequent retention payments. In a quick count, 30 non-executive directors have left the company.
This trend of losing seniority has been displeasing Birman, who has been trying to retain talent with retention plans. "There is, indeed, a brutal turnover of people within the company and retention bonuses going back and forth," says one of the sources.
One example is Reserva, which has been generating direct costs, both through bonuses and indirect costs due to the loss of know-how. "There are people who have already been rewarded with two retention packages: when they went to the Kameyama and Jatahy verticals, and now after the new move to join Hering," the source adds.
This tension has existed since Rony Meisler and the team that created Reserva left the business. It became clear then that the problem is not one of management, but of tension at the top of the organization that prevents succession.
While keeping things in perspective, Tiago Hering's departure from the leadership of the brand created by his family also generated a ripple effect: mass layoffs in the Blumenau operation. "The group had a huge problem with Tiago's departure and the dismissal of almost the entire Hering team," says the source.
Another source interviewed by NeoFeed adds: "He is very proud and a very difficult person," they state. "And that's the reason why no top executive has stayed with the group."
