Brazilians rush to buy TVs before Cup
SAO PAULO: While still more than a week away, the World Cup has already had a major impact on retailers in the selfdescribed ‘‘Country of Soccer’’, as footballmad Brazilians feverishly scoop up new televisions.
Brazilian TV production, much of it by international companies such as Panasonic Corp and LG Corp in a taxfree zone in Amazonas state, has risen 25% by some measures, while the country’s leading electronics retailers are reporting a spike in sales in recent months.
Stores are also coming up with novel methods to get Brazilians to pull the trigger on new TV sets, with many offering major discounts.
Electronics and appliance chain and local ecommerce standout Magazine Luiza SA, for instance, is allowing customers to pay for new televisions in part by trading in their old sets.
‘‘We’re seeing sales get stronger week after week as we get closer to the Cup,’’ commer cial director Fabio Gabaldo said.
The boost is not unique to Brazil, which is the only country to have appeared in every tournament in history.
In neighbouring Peru, which will make its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, firstquarter TV sales rose 25% from a year earlier, according to pollster GfK. That nation’s congress came under fire recently for planning to buy 60 TVs and several minifridges, purchases that many Peruvians suspect are related to the World Cup, a charge legislators have denied.
The rise in sales in Brazil shows how enthusiasm for the Cup shows no signs of fading even after an embarrassing exit from the 2014 tournament, which was played at home.
Various other sectors, including brewing and food retail, are set for a major boost during the Cup itself, potentially providing a small shot of adrenaline for an economy that has struggled to recover from a deep recession.
JanuarytoMarch industrial production for the electronics category, which includes TVs, rose more than 26% from the same period a year before, according to government statistics.
In the interior of impoverished Amazonas, a state dominated by lush rain forest but also a major producer of TVs because of tax incentives, production jumped 47%.
Carrefour Brasil’s chief execu tive of retail, Jose Luis Gutierrez, said electronics sales picked up in May and were set to be ‘‘very strong’’ in the second quarter because of the tournament.
Major electronics retailer Via Varejo SA has boosted inventories to deal with the event, the company’s newly installed CEO, Peter Paul Estermann, told investors in late April.
Some retailers are betting on fans’ superstition to help them sell televisions, especially after Brazil was unceremoniously axed from the 2014 contest in a 71 blowout loss to Germany.
An ad on Magazine Luiza’s website asks readers: ‘‘Are you really going to watch Brazil on the same TV as the 71 match?’’ — Reuters