Brazil’s Tempting Opportunities For British Companies

Brazil has been in the spotlight both for some wrong reasons such as the riots and civil unrest however, it is now preparing to take centre stage in what will hopefully be a positive spotlight in the upcoming 2014 World Cup. Predictions have been made that over 600,000 tourists will travel to Brazil next June with estimates that the World Cup tournament will boost the Brazilian economy by an impressive USD$11 billion. With the world’s eyes set on the powerhouse of South America, it will have little or no time to become complacent following the World Cup. In 2016 the Olympic Games arrive in Rio, meaning that the next 3 years are essential to Brazil’s post-World Cup and post-Olympic status.

Bright Future For Brazil

The Brazilian Government has unsurprisingly been investing heavily in the infrastructure of the country in order to cope with the vast numbers of tourists arriving to the country for these specific events. In doing so, the country is not only setting itself up to succeed in producing two incredible events but it has also set itself up to attract the attention of investors. Brazil, the world’s fifth largest economy, has seen rapid growth in the last 10 years within a continent that has also developed and advanced quickly. Although 2012 was seen as a relatively lacklustre year considering all the marketing and attention caused by the scheduled World Cup, the economy today seems to be getting back on track.

Opportunities For British Companies

An expanding and consumerist Brazilian middle-class has already provided too much temptation to resist for British companies such as, Burberry and Topshop who have made the leap into Brazil. In the early part of 2013, the British Chambers of Commerce performed a survey and found that Brazil was high up on the list for exporters. The high demand created by this new middle class for consumer goods, clothes, food, drink, cars and luxury products has fuelled the growth of interest from companies outside of Brazil. The survey found that although only 20% of the companies currently export to Brazil, almost a third of the businesses were considering exporting to Brazil in the next 5 years.

With the expansion into any foreign market the language barrier is often quite daunting for a number of companies. The importance of having a professionally translated website dedicated to Brazil and the needs of Brazilians is vital to the company’s success and survival in this market. This is where Latin Link and its team of native-speaking Brazilian Portuguese professional translators can help you to take advantage of the opportunities presented in the expanding Brazilian market.

The Brazilian Market

Although many Brazilians frequent the many shopping malls in Brazil as well as during their holidays; Brazilian e-commerce is on the rise and is increasing every day. The use of the internet by Brazilians has grown rapidly and looks set to continue growing in the near future with Brazilians now accounting for the seventh highest number of internet users worldwide. An interesting trend has formed in Brazil within the field of social media, whereby they are more likely to interact with companies, brands and recommending products than users from the UK or the USA. It is therefore not only your website that needs to be in line with the consuming Brazilians but your company’s social media is also just as important in communicating with this new rising market.

It is obviously important to remember that the move to Brazil or exporting your company’s goods is not also as easy as it sounds. Many companies find it far from straightforward to get started in Brazil due to the bureaucracy that is representative of most Latin American countries as well as a less developed infrastructure. Ernst and Young recently ran a report on Brazil’s attractiveness highlighting the many barriers or difficulties as well as improvements needed within Brazil. However, they concluded that the outlook for investment and exporting opportunities was on the whole positive and predict that the ties between British and Brazilian businesses will grow closer over the next few years. Brazil is set to be a beacon of light and opportunities in Latin America which will no doubt begin a rush to try and join those established British companies already riding the wave of success in Brazil.