Telecommunications

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Latin eVentures comes to Brazil

The recently created Latin eVentures has just set foot in the country with the goal of becoming the major electronic retailer for large corporations in Latin America.

With headquarters in Irvine, California, and backed by investments from U.S. and Latin American partners - mostly banks and private capital - the multinational yesterday launched the exclusive eAQUIB2B access site, its first product earmarked for Brazilian "business-to-business" (B2B), that is, embracing intercompany sales.

"At the present stage we are going to operate with on-line sales of computer equipment and supplies of partners like Dell and Compaq. The array of categories will then be diversified, in addition to inaugurating businesses directly targeting the consumer," affirms Cenmar Fuertes, president of Latin eVentures.

The multinational will invest US$ 10 million in launching its operations in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. It must then set its sights on the rest of the countries of the region, as well as provide services directed at the Hispanic community in the United States.

Cenmar Fuertes believes that Brazil should account for half of the one billion dollars in Internet sales estimated for next year. The domestic information technology market should represent a 17 billion dollar turnover in 1999.

Reaffirming that his company "only has competitors in the real world, where costs and terms are higher," Fuertes points out that the differential of the B2B system is to offer special services and lower prices directly. And he stresses that it promises to compare bids simultaneously.

The commercial and logistical operation of Latin eVentures do Brasil and other subsidiaries on the continent and in Europe (Portugal and Spain) will be developed by the American partner, Ingram Micro, which possesses 10,000 active customers and 40 listed suppliers. The president of the Brazilian subsidiary, Marco Antonio Rossi, emphasizes that the B2B site of Latin eVentures has a format adapted to the needs of the purchasing sectors, with a simpler and more direct presentation than the models open to the general public, in addition to already including every protocol, documentation and service of interest to the customer. Rossi discloses that its password-coded address on the Web is already testing services for some large nationwide groups, like Antarctica, Santista and Nestlé, intermediating in purchasing procedures. The suppliers and customers are finding links for the respective pages on the Internet.

By May 2000 Latin eVentures should be inaugurating the eAQUI virtual retail or "business to consumer"(B2C) site. Founded seven months ago with 25 employees, Latin eVentures will have offices in São Paulo and in the capitals of Mexico, Argentina and Chile. World headquarters will be in Santa Monica, California.