Some Brazil retailers will expand despite slow growth projections for 2015

Global Business

Brazilians are facing a gloomy economic outlook for 2015 as well as lower consumer confidence, but that’s not stopping some businesses from expanding. CCTV’s Paulo Cabral reported this story from Sao Paulo.

Some Brazil retailers will expand despite slow growth projections for 2015

Brazilians are facing a gloomy economic outlook for 2015 as well as lower consumer confidence, but that's not stopping some businesses from expanding. CCTV's Paulo Cabral reported this story from Sao Paulo.

Analysts predict the Brazilian economy will continue at a slow pace for at least the next two years, yet many retailers say they plan to pump more money into their businesses.

A survey by the Sao Paulo Commerce Federation found that 48 percent of the retail companies plan to increase investment in 2015, while only about one in five businesses surveyed said they will slow down.

Globally, investment by the retail industry is projected to grow by almost 5 percent.

“Everybody knows that 2015 is going to be a very hard adjustment year, so we’re not investing thinking about 2015. Companies are investing and planning to invest more than in previous years but thinking about upcoming years,” Fabio Pina, chief-economist at the Sao Paulo Federation of Commerce said.

Kalunga, the largest office supply chain in the country, has 135 stores and plans to open another 20 this year.

“There’s still a lot to do in Brazil. We believe this crisis won’t last long so it’s time to push. We have a very well organized business here that’s been going for more than 40 years, and we believe in it,” Hosley Pimenta, commercial director of Kalunga office supplies said.