Press release:
Sao Paulo, Brazil & Salt Lake City, Utah — (July 29, 2014) Marerua (pronounced: mar-eh who-ah), an emerging market e-commerce services provider, today announced the launch of a new platform that enables U.S. brands to sell direct online in Brazil, one of the fast-emerging e-commerce markets in the world with 25 – 28% growth during the last two years and total revenue projected to reach $17 billion USD in 2014, according to e-Bit, the independent authority on E-commerce in Brazil.
The Marerua Platform is an outsourced solution for brands to safely enter the market and launch a localized direct sales channel online without the upfront time and investment of setting up their own local businesses and infrastructure. The Marerua Platform provides brands with established and advanced logistics partnerships, an ‘American’ customer service approach, and a technology platform customized for all the local integrations required. For youth lifestyle brands, there is also a seamless integration into Fridom.com.br, Brazil’s top online marketplace for skate/street, art and music driven brands and also Marerua’s original entry into the Brazilian market. In addition, companies can leverage OndaConcreta, a separately branded channel to liquidate aged inventory.
“We’ve previously tested the Brazilian market through the more traditional channels so we’re aware that doing business in Brazil has its own special set of rules. That gave us pause when wanting to re-enter the market. We want the brand to be the leader for how GoldCoast is perceived on-line,” said Nathan Coan, CEO of Goldcoast Skateboards. “Brazil has a major appetite for skateboarding, and with the e-commerce explosion we plugged in to Marerua. Their experience will fast track our digital efforts, and mitigate ops needs for added support. With their local knowledge and built-in infrastructure, plus knowledge of our brand and culture, we have an easier and safer path to the market.”
BRAZIL’S E-COMMERCE MARKET FOR U.S. BRANDS
Over the last five years, significant government subsidies have allowed for rapid expansion of broadband Internet access and mobile networks. As a result, over half the population (~110 million) is on high-speed Internet, spawning a tidal wave of online shoppers – a majority of whom lives outside the major cities and without access to the physical retailers of top U.S. brands. The youth of Brazil are now leveraging mobile more than desktop with Google LatAm reporting mobile searches on Google and YouTube are expected to surpass desktop searches this year for the first time in history. For youth lifestyle brands, retail infrastructure is not expanding fast enough to meet consumer demand while the youth of Brazil are embracing technology quickly, creating an enormous online opportunity. All this momentum and still less than 5 percent of the many brands distributing in Brazil publish a site in Portuguese.
“Brazil is simply a giant ‘do-over’ for U.S. brands online, but unfortunately one where some of the same mistakes of the past are being repeated,” said Matt Falcinelli, CEO and Founder of Marerua. “In the U.S., brands enabled online retailers in the early days, flooding the online channels and leading to the over distribution that we see today in the U.S. market. We are determined to empower brands online in emerging markets, starting with Brazil, so they can establish early control of their brand and manage online distribution intelligently. Brands in the U.S. today are reducing the number of approved online retailers and Marerua is helping them avoid making the same mistakes in an opportunistic, yet complicated market that is Brazil. Unfortunately, some brands are opening more and more doors to meet their goals and before selling direct in Brazil. This is a dangerous path for any brand, as we learned in the U.S., and we’re here to help,”
Marerua is led by e-commerce, customer service and logistics experts with 15 years of experience managing operations in the action sports, outdoor, and fashion industries including companies such as, Backcountry.com, Skullcandy and NetShoes.com (Zappos of Brazil).
The Marerua team has spent two years establishing an American level of customer service and forming advanced logistics partnerships in Brazil, a market known by many for sub-par service levels. Having launched Fridom.com.br in April of 2013, first as a traditional e-commerce site before evolving into a niche marketplace for brands to sell direct, Marerua’s superior logistics and customer service were proven as competitive advantages. As a result, 50 percent of purchases on the Fridom marketplace are from repeat customers.
The company is venture-backed with funding by Koolen Participations B.V. and Levinthal Capital, an early investor in Skullcandy and GoPro, in addition to an investor group that includes current and former executives from Google, Zappos, McCannErickson LatAm, and the founder of 1800contacts.com. For additional information, please contact mfalcinelli@fridom.com.br
