Domestic retail may receive more foreign capital
Valor Econômico - 06/11/2008
The Brazilian retail sector may receive between US$ 1 billion and US$ 2 billion in investments this year. And the clothing sector is the most promising one, according to the consulting firm A.T. Kearney, which released its latest research on attractiveness and evolution of the retail in 30 emerging countries yesterday. Most of these allocations of funds may occur through acquisitions as well as increase of already existing participation in the country, says Markus Stricker, A.T. Kearney consultant. "The consumer in Brazil is young, aware of fashion and six times more likely to spend on clothes than the Chinese", explains Camilo Pereira, also an A.T. Kearney consultant. The Brazilian retail sector has gained 11 positions in a ranking of attractiveness and development with 30 emerging nations. In its seventh edition, the survey made by A.T. Kearney with data from 2007 shows that the country is more interesting for investments in retail: Brazil now appears in 9th place, behind Chile (8th); Saudi Arabia (7th); Morocco (6th); Egypt (5th); China (4th); Russia (3rd); India (2nd) and Vietnam, in first place. According to Markus Stricker, consultant of the company, the leap is due to the high level of attractiveness (one of the four criteria of evaluation of the index) of the Brazilian retail sector. According to him, the increase in the number of consumers with access to stores and greater purchasing power opens a great potential of expansion for the sector's market. The stabilization of the economy and the increase of credit also justify the evolution of Brazil in the research.