University of Sao Paulo
Professor James Wright welcomed GPMBA students with a discussion of Brazil's flourishing economy and its coming challenges.
The presentation by Professor
James Wright, Strategic Marketing in Brazil, was excellent in giving students a
Brazilian market overview. Professor
Wright’s initial discussion of the various influences within the Brazilian
society helps a foreigner who wants to conduct business in the country to
understand existing cultural and societal dynamics. Furthermore, the discussion regarding goods and services that
will be effective for the A/B vs. the C/D markets prepared us for the following
presentation by Citibank, which primarily focuses on the A/B market in Brazil.
Being a member of the Wine Group, I found Professor Wright’s discussion
of the Brazilian wine industry very helpful.
Though Brazil cannot compete with Chile in high-end wines, Professor
Wright mentioned that there might be opportunities for winemakers to sell common
wine in tetrapaks in Brazil for mass distribution and consumption. – Myla
Lopez
We went to
visit University of Sao Paulo, Professor Wright gave an enlightening lecture
which provided valuable insight into a virtually untapped market in Brazil, the
C and D classes. It was interesting
to note that even the street cleaners in Brazil understand the time value of
money, which is not the most basic of concepts.
It is telling that the C and D class might be more sophisticated than
originally assumed. If a company
can find a way to tap into this market by providing quality goods at affordable
prices, they will have tapped into a goldmine.
It was also interesting to learn that Brazil is Argentina’s largest
exporter, while Argentina is Brazil’s 3rd largest exporter
(following the US and Europe), thus emphasizing that Brazil really is an
economic powerhouse of Latin America. - Mary McNally
GPMBA students (l. to r.) Lori Shoffner, Nicole Schott, and Shoshana Osinsky presented their report comparing the management strategies of Citibank and Banco Santender at the University of Sao Paolo. Marcio Castro of Citibank gives his view of the global banking marketplace.
