BRAZIL. The country’s leading travel retailer Brasif has invested BRL 1 million (US$0.3 million) in re-launching its mail-order catalogue business for local consumers.
The company said that the new catalogues, together with the Internet and a call centre should generate around 15% of sales this year. Currently they represent 10% with the balance coming from Brasif’s duty free operations at the country’s international airports and its downtown shopping centres.
The company said the catalogues may represent a third of sales within three years. The initial print run will be 350,000 units, growing to one million per year.
In the latest issue of The Moodie Report print edition (now available online), Brasif director-general of its Brazilian operations Gustavo Fagundes explains the strategic push into catalogue and other direct selling. “Travel retail is still our main retail activity and arrivals shopping remains the big thing for Brazilians,” he said. “They know us and trust us and like to buy their luxury products from us. Now we want to make that relationship with our consumers tighter and tighter so they keep shopping with us even when they are not travelling.”
That will involve both “˜bricks and mortar’ retailing, web, telephone and catalogue shopping. There are 1.7 million “˜Class A’ consumers in Brazil with high spending power. Following recent store expansion, Brasif is among the country’s top three domestic retailers of beauty products, a position it plans to consolidate. The company is the official distributor for Estée Lauder Companies’ hot MAC brand.
MORE STORIES ON BRASIF
Brasif debuts duty paid Arome concept – 28/01/04
Brasif’s Fashion Brazil project shows the way for Latin America – 10/09/03
Brasif welcomes introduction of local cigarettes – 05/08/03
Brasif to launch new website with strong local flavour – 02/05/03
