Summary

Once the darling of the BRIC group, Brazil has recently fallen out of favor. GDP growth over the past four years has halved since the heady years of 5% growth between 2004 and 2008, and the market expects a similarly weak performance of around 2% GDP growth in 2014. The reasons for the decline are well understood: a closed and protected economy, low productivity, heavy government intervention and bureaucracy, and famously weak infrastructure.

If the hype is over, however, Brazil still remains a large and attractive consumer market. The country has the sixth largest GDP in the world and a population of around 200 million, half of which can be safely categorized as middle class. On the whole, Brazilian consumers remain undeserved in many retail categories, presenting plenty of opportunities for retailers able to understand where and how to place their bets...

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