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Argentina & Uruguay: A Tale of Two Brackets

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 Selección Uruguaya today on the sports page of El País. While Argentina speaks with the swagger of the ‘Canes, Uruguay settles for the occasional tweet from Forlán. 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 Rising 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 electrónicos compared to one year ago. This statistic partially reflects the growing preference among Argentines—individuals and businesses alike—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)

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Twitterando: BA Biz Discover 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, Compañía X, have to say is more important than what consumers of  Compañía X have to say and share with fellow users and potential Compañía 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 Chávez, 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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Design Stars Shine In BA Fashion Week

On February 26, 2010, In arts & entertainment, buenos aires events, creative class, entrepreneurs, by InvestBA

Models wear designs by Martin Churba during BA Fashion Week 2010. (AP/ Natacha Pisarenko)

Models wear designs by Martin Churba during BA Fashion Week 2010. (AP/ Natacha Pisarenko)

Buenos Aires is the city where “shopping” is much more than an action verb for describing the favorite indoor activity of many females…“shopping” is a place. In fact, BA is home to some of the largest gallerias—or shoppings—in Latin America. BA shoppings like Alto Palermo, Paseo Alcorta, Patio Bullrich and the new DOT Baires mega-project all feature their share of international retail outlets, but those engaging in porteño retail therapy will also find a significant number of high-end stores and successful labels launched by Argentine designers. The highly anticipated BA Fashion Week, an annual showcase for Fall/Winter collections, is the launching pad for many of these aspiring designers. As always, this week’s event features dozens of designers showing a wide variety of unique garments and accessories like Cubreme’s coats, S-Mode’s swimsuits, Cosecha’s vintage clothing, Bienamada’s handbags and Ana Livni’s Uruguayan merino wool designs.  Not to be outdone on the global catwalk, the 2010 edition of BAFWeek is competing with Fashion Weeks in two other major fashion capitals, London & Milan. For foreign retail buyer inquiries regarding any of the collections featured in BAFWeek 2010, send a detailed e-mail to out@investba.com.

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