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News from Latin America
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December 13, 2000: 1:51 p.m. ET
Yahoo sets Brazil shopping channel; Altavista invests millions in LatAm
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NEW YORK (BNamericas.com) - Yahoo Brasil launched its shopping channel in Brazil; Altavista entered the Brazilian market with a multi-million investment, and Duratex said it aims to attract some 500 corporate clients to its B2B site during the next 12 months.
Yahoo launches shopping channel in Brazil
Search engine Yahoo Brasil Tuesday launched its shopping channel Yahoo! Brasil Shopping, which initially gathers seven e-tailers with a Brazilian presence. These are: Marisa, Americanas, Amelia, Ikids, Novo Estilo, Flores Online and Espiral.
Brazilian online shoppers will be able to search for and purchase products from all seven stores, using the same shopping cart and paying one single bill. Yahoo Brasil will charge the online merchants a monthly fee for participating in the site, and will retain a commission on each purchase.
Payment is by credit card. Next quarter, several new merchants will join, among them local book and CD retailer Submarino, Yahoo Brazil e-commerce director Guilherme Ribenboim said, quoted in Gazeta Mercantil (Brazil).
Yahoo Brasil is a subsidiary of search engine Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates). Brazil is the first Latin American country in which Yahoo has introduced its shopping channel, adding to an auction channel launched earlier this year. Yahoo plans similar e-commerce initiatives for Mexico and Argentina in 2001.
Last quarter, Yahoo's United States shopping channel completed transactions of $1 billion.
Altavista to invest $25 million to $30 million in Latin America
Search engine Altavista officially entered the Brazilian market yesterday and announced plans to invest $25 million to $30 million in Latin America to expand into Mexico, Argentina and Chile, with regional coverage by the end of the first quarter in 2001.
The company spent $1 million to develop its Brazilian site, which provides access to eight million pages, compared to its site in Portugal - also launched yesterday -- that provides access to 1.5 million pages.
The Brazilian site will also offer translation of pages into Portuguese and aims to launch in the medium term a WAP-enabled search service.
In Brazil Altavista will compete with Yahoo!, which also operates a country-specific site for Brazil; Cade, which belongs to New York-based access and content provider StarMedia; and Miner, the search engine controlled by local access and content provider UOL.
Duratex seeks 500 online B2B clients in the next 12 months
Brazilian porcelain and faucet manufacturer Duratex, controlled by the Itausa group, aims to attract some 500 corporate clients to its B2B site during the next 12 months, said executive director Plinio do Amaral Pinheiro, quoted in O Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazil).
Currently, the system has 36 users. The goal is to increase client loyalty, expand distribution and strengthen the brand in the new economy.
Another Internet initiative will be the launch of a corporate Web site in early 2001. According to Pinheiro, Duratex will invest no more than $15,300 (30,000 reals) in the creation of the site, since it will contract sister company Itautec. The site will feature an investor relations area, along with company reports and press releases.
Duratex reported $277 million (545 million reals) revenue for the first nine months of 2000, a 12.5 percent jump on the same period last year. Net profits for the first nine months of 2000 totaled $25 million (49 million reals), a 1,039 percent increase over 1999.
Source: BNamericas.com 
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