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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 Real Estate Expo: Who Invited Small Investors to the Party?

On August 31, 2010, In buenos aires events, real estate, by InvestBA
911 Carrera at the Argentina Real Estate Expo

Small investors at the Real Estate Expo were looking for safer investment alternatives than a $200k 911 Carrera.

Ten days have passed since Expo Real Estate Argentina 2010 (Did you see our video?), which gave Clari­n sufficient time to absorb all the information presented and formulate some conclusions of their own. Most notable was the fact small investors were really the stars of the event, significantly outnumbering large brokers, developers or architecture firms.

“We’re not talking about people with huge international support or institutional funds backing them,” said one attendee, “We’re talking about individual investors looking for a safe alternative for investing their capital.”

Just one small problem, Clari­n opines. The small real estate investor walking the floor of the Exhibition Hall is as likely to influence the direction of the local market (in terms of product and pricing), as a small shareholder attending the Annual Meeting of a large publicly-traded company (with the possible exception of Berkshire Hathaway).

Small real estate investors have concerns, needs and great ideas; yet, the push-push-push marketing by the local broker-developer community leaves them out in the cold. Don’t believe us? Try finding a local broker or developer with a blog, twitter account, or any type of social media plugin soliciting user feedback.

Instead, our inboxes are cascading with Argentine broker e-mails with subject lines like INCREIBLE PROPIEDAD! or PARA INVERSORES! and the requisite 5MB attachments which we never open. As one very astute broker told Clari­n, “The new way of operating should be less about having a big Rolodex and more about reading the market and having the capacity to segment your clients.”

Which is exactly what we do @InvestBA. We blog in several languages, we inform and educate, we promote lifestyle, we solicit feedback daily, and we know exactly which of our international clients would be interested in what types of real estate opportunities in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay. In short, Clari­n characterized the presence and demands of the small investor as “nuevos desafi­os,” but we view them as “nuevas oportunidades.”

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World Cup 2010: A Tale of Two Brackets for Argentina, Uruguay

On June 25, 2010, In arts & entertainment, competitiveness, lifestyle, by InvestBA
World Cup Round of 16

Argentina and Uruguay are both four wins away from getting a third star for their jerseys.

“Europe in Decline While Latin America Shines” was the headline three days ago, as France, Italy and Greece were on the verge of elimination from the 2010 World Cup. Meanwhile local favorites Argentina and Uruguay took care of business in unselfish, workmanlike fashion, as did other Latin American teams: Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Paraguay will all make the cut.

Now Argentina and Uruguay find themselves in Round of 16 brackets that couldn’t be more dissimilar: Argentina’s reads like the Pantheon of Futbol Legends (England, Mexico & Germany) while Uruguay’s reads like a random seating chart at a Model U.N. conference (Ghana, Korea & U.S.A.).

One group has tallied 56 World Cup appearances, 17 Top 4 finishes and 6 World Cup victories; the other group’s stats are padded by Uruguay’s World Cup appearances (10) and wins (2). Since InvestBA focuses on investment opportunities in Argentina and Uruguay, we find the level of local fan confidence going into this weekend intriguing to say the least.

Despite their Pantheon positioning, confidence runneth over among the Argentine press and fan base. Pictures of Maradona sporting shades, headlines like “Vote of Confidence” and stories of fans of the Albicelestes already pushing back their return flights abound. In stark contrast, the Uruguayan fan base seems more reserved and respectful of their future foes. In fact, you can’t find a single story about the Seleccion Uruguaya today on the sports page of El Pai­s.

While Argentina speaks with the swagger of the ‘Canes, Uruguay settles for the occasional tweet from Forlan. Two different teams. Two different approaches. Two different chances to make history. We wish them both well and offer our predictions for this weekend of all weekends.

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Internet, WiFi Penetration Continues to Rise in Argentina

On June 16, 2010, In lifestyle, technology, by InvestBA
Argentina Internet Penetration

LCD sales may taper off post-Mundial, but WiFi growth means more broadband accounts in Argentina.

Sales of LCD TV’s in Argentina are currently up 150% over last year, but many analysts say those numbers will taper off once the World Cup is over. The growth of new Internet subscribers, however, should continue its upward trajectory as more Argentine residents and businesses seek broadband access to online content.

According to infobae.com, over 700,000 new residential users signed up for Internet service between March 2009 and March 2010 raising the number of online households to 4.1 million. During the same period, the number of Argentine businesses adding Internet service increased 48% and the number of broadband accounts grew 58%.

One number moving in the opposite direction is the number of e-mails sent, as Argentines sent 7.7% fewer correos electronicos compared to one year ago. This statistic partially reflects the growing preference among Argentine consumers for communicating via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

ADSL accounts for 62% of Argentine broadband connections, and cable modems represent another 24% of users. As we’ve noted previously, the rapid growth and popularity of WiFi has prompted the rush to broadband in Buenos Aires and other major cities in Argentina. The most recent rankings of global Internet usage show 49% of Argentines have Internet access compared to 50% of Chileans, and 36% of Brazilians. (Full Story in Spanish)

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

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Twitterando: Buenos Aires Companies Slowly Tap Social Media

On May 12, 2010, In creative class, franchises, technology, us companies, visionaries, by InvestBA
Starbucks Argentina on Facebook

Companies like Starbucks Argentina are taking the bold first steps in BA business social media.

While Facebook, Twitter and corporate blogs are de riguer social media tools for U.S. brands, the phenomenon is a relatively nascent one in Argentina according to an in-depth article by Florencia Radici for Cronista.

It’s hard to pinpoint whether the Web 2.0 reluctance is motivated by fear of losing control of the message or the heavily flawed assumption that what they, Empresa X, have to say is more important than what consumers of Empresa X have to say and share with fellow users and potential Empresa X converts.

Yet major Argentine brands with hundreds of outlets and millions of customers either have no social media exposure or only a handful of followers on sites like Twitter. In fact, Argentina doesn’t even show up in Twitter’s global ranking on Alexa, while other Latin American countries account for a sizable percentage of the microblog’s traffic: Brazil (3.2%), Mexico (1.5%) and Venezuela (0.7%…thanks to El Loco Chavez, the Ashton Kutcher of Caracas.)

Fortunately Radici says some BA companies are biting the social bala and engaging with customers via blogs and social networks. Many of these companies like Starbucks Argentina, Officenet Staples and IBM have U.S. ties and managers previously baptized in the waters of social media.

Despite a slow start, Radici says BA companies are starting to warm to the idea of online customer engagement, and she points to two recent examples of BA2.0 brilliance include Nike runners twittering in the October 10K and Park Hyatt guests twittering with the concierge. (Full story in Spanish)

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