Fact or Fake: Do companies expand operations and rent warehouses only 30 days before Black Friday?

Ah, Black Friday! A huge portion of the population eagerly awaits this Friday. As soon as promotions and campaigns go live or stores finally open, the race begins. After the green light, millions will frantically open and click through their gamified shopping apps or flood the country’s main retailers. Whether it’s someone buying a long-planned product or a shopper fascinated by things they don’t really need, the date—packed with offers designed to trigger purchase behavior—will generate massive spending this year.

But here’s the question few people ask: what does the market do to meet this colossal demand? Especially in logistics, there are many rumors about how companies act during peak shopping and shipping seasons in Brazil. Some say companies expand operations right before the event—just 30 days in advance. But is that really what happens?

To debunk another myth surrounding this famous yet secretive date, REsource contacted one of the leading companies specializing in flexible logistics solutions, SKUrban, to understand the perspective of its founder and CEO, Stephen Tanenbaum.

Since the goal here is to inform—and not raise your anxiety levels—let’s get straight to the point. According to the executive, this statement does not hold up:

“I consider it fake. At most, if the company is already a tenant, it may take an additional area, because in general the products that supply this demand arrive months in advance. Planning to increase inventory in just one month would be insufficient.”

Considering that one month is too short, Tanenbaum reflects on the minimum term for a lease contract and which model companies use when needing quick stock expansion:

“The Co-warehousing model can be interesting for seasonal demand, as long as it’s a contract of at least 6 months. In general, it’s difficult to rent a warehouse in a logistics condominium for less than 1 year or outside the 3–5 year standard. In our case, contracts are usually at least one year.
For those who need to secure operations quickly, the most viable solution becomes outsourcing the service to a transport provider.”

Regarding challenges, the CEO explains that what truly troubles companies during these periods is having space and labor available in the face of demand volume. Finally, Tanenbaum analyzes how factors beyond holiday peaks also drive demand for more flexible logistics and urban solutions in Brazil:

“We see the growth of e-commerce, the rise of last-mile logistics, and the search for complete infrastructure: security, spaces from 50 to 500 m², commercial rooms, coworking spaces… all within a city location.
With flexible models, there’s no need to separate operations, and companies can meet space needs for small and medium users without long contracts or large investments from tenants.”