On shelves, sale of experiences for middle class
Valor Econômico
Certain that great part of the consumers with a monthly family income around R$ 5 thousand (US$ 2.9 thousand) are ready to buy things they can't touch the companies selling experiences begin invading the large-scale retail. Supermarkets, furniture and electric and electronics chains and even salespeople of beauty products working door-to-door are the new channels of companies like O Melhor da Vida, A Vida é Bela, Smart Box, Pandora and Viver! Experiências.
Until today, internet and bookstores concentrated the sales of the experience kits - a box with a catalog of options on a given theme (Zen, adventure, beauty, etc), with a voucher that entitles to the service chosen. Among the options, from a hike in the mountains (R$ 49/US$ 28.8), going through an Ofuro bath with rose petals and foot massage (R$ 119/US$ 70), to driving a Ferrari in Interlagos (R$ 600/US$ 353).
"The sale of experiences in Brazil should be a success mainly because of class C", says Cristina Reis, Director of A Vida é Bela, a Portuguese company with branches in Brazil and Spain. According to Cristina, class C will have such moment as an aspiration. The Executive intends to make the presence of the brand jump from the current 10 points of sale (all at the Fnac) to 300 this year. In Brazil, where it is since 2009, A Vida é Bela has sold R$ 2 million (US$ 1.14 million) in 2010 and it projects R$ 25 million (US$ 14.7 million) for this year. Abroad, the turnover was € 60 million last year.
Created at the end of 2010 by the Portuguese Ricardo Ferreira, Executive who headed the arrival of A Vida é Bela in Brazil, Pandora Experiências has just closed a partnership with Máquina de Vendas to offer its kits in the three chains of the retailer of furniture and electric devices - Ricardo Eletro, Insinuante and City Lar, which together amount to nearly 800 points of sale. The kits of the company should land in the stores before Mother's Day, in May, but they will already offered at the website of Ricardo Eletro as of next month, at prices ranging from R$ 70 (US$ 41.2) to R$ 350 (US$ 206). The goal of Pandora is to sell R$ 8 million (US$ 4.7 million) this year.
With 80% of its sales concentrated in the corporate segment, O Melhor da Vida, a website, is increasing its efforts to achieve the regular consumer. This year the company started selling door-to-door, taking advantage of the sellers of beauty products, among other professionals. "We want the representativeness of the retail in the earnings to double to 40%", says Jorge Nahas, an owner of the site. Created in 2009, O Melhor da Vida sold R$ 5.6 million (US$ 3.2 million) in 2010 and it projects an income of R$ 10 million (US$ 5.9 million) this year. The entrepreneur entered into a partnership with a chain of natural food products, Mundo Verde, owner of 180 stores. For the retail, the price of the kits will range from R$ 49 (US$ 28.8) to R$ 1 thousand (US$ 588). Above that value, until R$ 40 thousand (US$ 23.5 thousand), the products are intended especially to the corporate segment, which may buy the kit to reward senior executives. In that case, there are much more ambitious experiences, such as sharing pans in Paris with a chef holder of three stars in the Michelin Guide.