IMPACTS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY ON THE RESULTS OF THE RETAIL CLOTHING TRADE IN JUAZEIRO DO NORTE (CE): A STRUCTURAL, IN-DEPTH AND CONTEXTUALIZED ANALYSIS IN LIGHT OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ECONOMIC DYNAMICS OF CEARÁ (2025)

Abstract

Financial literacy has consolidated itself as a structural element of modern management, especially for micro and small enterprises operating in highly competitive and volatile environments. In clothing retail — a sector characterized by pronounced seasonality, accelerated inventory turnover, narrow margins and strong dependence on quick and precise decisions — the lack of solid financial knowledge and practices represents a critical factor of business vulnerability. This article, expanded and restructured according to the methodological and editorial standards of the REASE Journal, investigates in depth how the level of financial literacy of managers influences the operational, strategic and economic performance of fashion retail commerce in Juazeiro do Norte (CE), articulating local empirical evidence with macroeconomic indicators of Ceará in 2025. The qualitative research, of applied nature and exploratory-descriptive character, used semi-structured interviews with nine local retail entrepreneurs, whose content was analyzed through thematic analysis according to Minayo's (2014) protocol, complemented by triangulation with secondary data from the Institute of Research and Economic Strategy of Ceará (IPECE, 2025) and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The results reveal substantial deficiencies in five critical areas: (1) absence of structured cash flow management; (2) fragile inventory control based on intuition; (3) inadequate pricing, based on competitor comparison rather than real cost analysis; (4) marketing investments without return measurement; (5) resistance to training and financial education. It was also found that managers with greater financial literacy demonstrate greater resilience in the face of crises, better performance in working capital management, greater capacity to adapt to market changes and greater likelihood of taking advantage of opportunities arising from regional economic growth. The article presents theoretical, methodological and practical contributions, proposing a structured set of recommendations for entrepreneurs, public institutions, educational sector and regional policymakers. It is concluded that financial literacy is a central and irreplaceable factor for strengthening local retail, consolidating a more competitive regional economic environment and maximizing the use of opportunities arising from Ceará's economic growth in 2025.