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Brazil’s Natura Cleaning Up in Argentina

On March 8, 2011, In a-bric, foreign investment, by InvestBA
Natura Brasil

Natura shares have risen over 500% since the BOVESPA debut in 2004; they trade as SAO:NATU3

What do you get when you combine top quality health and beauty products, competitive pricing, a direct sales model, a commitment to sustainability, a broad social media presence and robust sales channels in some of Latin America’s youngest and fastest-growing markets? You get the stock chart to the left. Sao Paulo-based Natura originally listed on the BOVESPA in 2004, and the shares have risen over 500% compared to a 250% gain for the BOVESPA.

Cronista’s Gabriela Helman says Natura is cleaning up in Argentina’s perfume, cosmetics and personal care sector where the company’s main competitors are L’Oreal, Unilever, P&G and Avon. Natura is now the number three preferred cosmetics brand in Argentina where sales rose 27% last year compared to 8.8% back home in Brazil.

CEO Alessandro Carlucci tells Cronista that Natura plans to start production in Mexico and Colombia this year and replicate the local production model they have carefully crafted in Brazil. Natura outsourced some production in 2010 to Argentina where the company already has a Distribution Center and dedicated business units based in Buenos Aires.

One of Natura’s greatest qualities for the uninitiated is the breadth, depth and transparency of their online presence: the Natural Ingredients site, the Twitter page with 27,000 followers, their Investor Relations site, their YouTube channel, the Natura blog, the list goes on. Obviously this is a great company with a great story, and that is reflected in market share gains in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

For more information on Natura, check out this Company Presentation PDF from the Credit Suisse 2011 Brazil Equity Ideas Conference.

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Buenos Aires, Brazil Office Space Among World’s Most Expensive

On September 30, 2010, In a-bric, competitiveness, foreign investment, real estate, by InvestBA
Buenos Aires Skyline

New rankings from Mercer & Jones Lang LaSalle shed light on office space & expat affordability.

Commercial office space in Buenos Aires now ranks among the world’s Top 20 most expensive markets, according to a new study from Jones Lang LaSalle.

The analysis, prepared for Brazilian business publication Valor, compared office rents in 98 of the world’s largest metros in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. The #20 ranking places Buenos Aires ahead of cities like Bombay (#21), Toronto (#24), and Mexico City (#25), yet well behind the two most expensive markets in Latin America, Rio de Janeiro (#6) and Sao Paulo (#9).

The ranking made headlines in Brazil yesterday considering both cidades were in the Top 10, fueled in part by a roaring economy and record-setting acquisitions in both cities like SP’s Icon Faria Lima (US$351 million) and Rio’s Ventura Towers (US$398 million).

The analysis says average rents in both Brazilian cities are now more expensive than Manhattan, with an average range between $55-65 per square meter and some marquee buildings fetching closer to $85 per square meter. The Brazilian frenzy makes BA rents look affordable by comparison, and La Nacion reminds readers of a new Mercer global study which ranks BA #161 among 214 cities in terms of an affordability index for expats which factors in housing, transportation, clothing, food, and entertainment. (Note: the lower the number, the more affordable the city). Conversely, Brazil’s dynamic duo lie at the opposite end of the spectrum with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo checking in at #29 and #21, respectively. (Full story in Portuguese)

For more information on Buenos Aires real estate, visit our archives and download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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VanityBA: The Bienal de Sao Paulo

On September 29, 2010, In arts & entertainment, creative class, culture, vanityba, by laura

Gil Vicente in front of his series "Inimigos"

From September 25 through December 12, the 29th Bienal de Sao Paulo will take place in the Brazilian capital, calling the art world’s attention to the Southern Hemisphere.

The fair is organized by the Fundacao Bienal de Sao Paulo, an institution that fosters contemporary Brazilian art. The Bienal, first held in 1951, presents this art to a large and diverse audience and gives both Brazilian and foreign artists a fantastic stage from which to present their work.

The theme of this year’s edition of the Bienal is the idea that art and politics are inseparable. The title of the fair is a quote borrowed from Brazilian poet Jorge de Lima’s Invencao de Orfeu: There is always a cup of sea to sail in. The title of the fair embodies the idea that the Bienal de Sao Paulo hopes to achieve: “to assert that the utopian dimension of art is contained within itself, not without it or beyond it.”

It is in this “cup of sea” where artists produce their works and move forward, despite everything else. The works of 160 artists will be on display that the Bienial. With free admission, it is expected that over one million people (300,000 of them tourists) will attend the fair over its two and a half month run.

For more event information, visit the official website and download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Fasten Seat Belts: Why Latam Airlines Will Be A Game Changer

On August 29, 2010, In a-bric, competitiveness, foreign investment, tourism, by InvestBA
Lan Tam Airplanes

When Cueto Met Amaro: In the works for 7 years, the Latam merger will shake up the regional landscape.

When Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM, two of Latin America’s most efficient and profitable carriers, announced plans to combine operations, the headlines trumpeted the superlatives: the region’s largest fleet, 115 destinations in 23 countries, $8.5 billion valuation, $400 million in annual cost savings, and the list goes on.

But the combined operations and creation of Latam Airlines Group (LAG) trumpeted in the global financial press has been downplayed here in Argentina, and Carlos Manzoni of La Nacion tells us why. “The merger will be a blow to Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR), because Aeroli­neas will have to compete with (Latam) in the two most important routes they have: Chile and Brazil. They are going to lose market share when they should be gaining ground.”

If Argentina decides to makes life more difficult for Latam, Manzoni says, the new carrier can retaliate in a few different ways. TAM could stifle the flow of Brazilian tourists to Bariloche during ski season by routing flights to Valle Nevado in Chile instead. Likewise, LAN could opt to shut down trans-Atlantic service from Ezeiza to Europe, and channel those flights in and out of Sao Paulo instead. Either way, it will be a new airline landscape where Latam dominates as the big continental carrier, while small regional airlines like Gol and Pluna continue to gain market share exploiting the low-cost niche.

In closing, Manzoni says the courtship between the Cueto (LAN) and Amaro (TAM) families has been ongoing since 2003. Now that the nuptials are pending, let’s see if old regional flames try to spoil the honeymoon. (Full article in Spanish)

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Regional Survey: How Hot Is Buenos Aires?

On April 29, 2010, In a-bric, competitiveness, foreign investment, by InvestBA
Buenos Aires ranked 5th in the UIAI attractiveness survey

Buenos Aires makes the Top 5 in new survey, but Brazil dominates with 3 of the Top 10 spots.

If Buenos Aires were a woman, how attractive is she compared to the other municipal babes in Latin America? It might sound like the premise for a really bad reality TV show, but it was actually the focus of a serious study on foreign investment undertaken by a Chilean consulting firm and the research arm of a major Colombian university.

According to Portafolio.com, the Urban Investment Attractiveness Index (UIAI) sought to measure the degree of attractiveness of cities across Latin America based on factors like a.) the ability to attract foreign investment, b.) the quality of climate for foreign investors, c.) the strength of local stock markets, and d.) the prospects for future growth.

And while Buenos Aires wasn’t the first mina chosen by the bachelor, she wasn’t exactly voted off the island in the first round. (That was Venezuela.) In fact, BA came in a respectable fifth place overall in the UIAI survey of 48 cities. BA and fourth-placed Rio de Janeiro were credited with their status as “famous world cities and the strong presence of multinationals.” And Rio wasn’t the only Brazilian cidade feeling the love.

In choosing the #1 city overall, the UIAI said Sao Paulo was the hottest woman at the rose ceremony. The praise, which probably sits as well with Argentines as Time’s selection of Lula today as the world’s most influential leader, was full of superlatives: “Sao Paulo combines the best conditions for foreign investment given the importance of the market, the climate for investors and the diversity of investment options.” Now that’s hot.

For more information about Buenos Aires events and investment opportunities, download IncomeBA and the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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