Interview with iadvisor: Doing Business in Brazil

iadvisor Fernando Taveres Manzione shares tips on doing business in Brazil.

What are the major misconception Singaporean businesses have when doing business in Brazil?

The biggest misconception which I have seen over and over again is that Brazil is viewed as similar to the rest of the South American countries. This is a quick way to fail in Brazil. For example, if you are selling a product to the Brazilian companies, they need to be shown that the product will sell to Brazilians. So if you have market intelligence on Chile, Argentina, or Peru and believe that it can be applied to Brazil, you are going to have a rude awakening!

Any tips for Singaporean businesses?

There are four points to remember in the current Brazilian market:

- Brazilians are very passionate people, a good looking package helps to sell more;
- Brazilians love new things, especially electronic ones;
- Brazilians are very open to try what is new at the market;
- More women in Brazil are getting jobs outside home, so products need to be easier to make in terms of food and beverage sector. The frozen foods are getting more space at the supermarket shelves. Also the women has the power to make a decision what to consume, usually more than men.

When dealing with Brazil, we strongly encourage having a local representative in Brazil to be the eyes and ears of the foreign enterprises. Also, it is very important to have Brazil centric market research undertaken to showcase the commitment and opportunity in real terms to a strategic local partner.

Unlike the rest of Latin America, decisions are usually made on the spot in Brazil. Thus when afforded the opening with a key decision maker, a business deal can be consummated quickly if presented in the proper manner. The Singaporean company needs to show the benefits for the prospective partner, it DOES NOT matter if you have had success in the rest of Latin America. A case simply needs to be made that the offer will work for the Brazilian market.

All answers are provided to the best knowledge of the iadvisors at the point of answering, and are solely represented by the iadvisors, not IE Singapore.

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