ECRM recently hosted its three Latin American Virtual Sessions, during which brands from all over the world connected with buying partners from a variety of South American, Central American, Caribbean and Mexican retailers in the categories of health, beauty, food and beverage, pet and general merchandise.

As part of the program, we included a variety of thought leadership videos, including two on-demand presentations that were sent to participants in advance of the meetings, as well as three shorter presentations that were hosted on the ECRM Connect platform for buyers and sellers to view in between their meetings. Two of these videos were from Julio Capuano, CEO of Enlace Corporativo, and were focused on doing business in the Mexican and Central American markets. Three videos were from Yoan Montolio, Founder & CEO of Yucca Retail Consulting, and covered the topics of shopper marketing, product innovation and CPG operations best practices.

New to the session was our "Live Q&A Session" with Julio Capuano, which was hosted in the ECRM Connect Lounge for 30 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday during the program, and enabled participants to ask Julio questions about anything related to the Mexican Market. The lounge was packed on both days with both retailers and brands eager to learn more about the Mexican market (see image below).

Below are the on-demand presentation recordings from the session. For more information about next year's Latin American Programs, click the links below:

• Latin America Health & Beauty Care (September 27-30, 2021)
• Latin American Retail: Food & Beverage (November 8-10, 2021)
• Latin American Retail: General Merchandise & Pet (November 10-12, 2021)?????

Doing Business in Mexican and Central American Retail Markets

Julio Capuano, CEO of Enlace Corporativo, provides an overview of retail landscape in Mexico and Central America, and highlights what businesses need to know to effectively conduct business in those countries. 

The Impact of Covid-19 in the Mexican Retail Industry

Julio Capuano discusses the impact of COVID 19 on the Mexican Retail Industry, including new challenges caused by the pandemic, as well as new consumer demands and trends across categories.
 

How to Create a Complete Shopper Marketing Strategy

Eighty-two percent of purchasing decisions are made by shoppers while in front of the gondola and its products. To convert shoppers into buyers, category managers as well as brand managers have to understand how to create a complete shopper-centric strategy. During this educational session, Yucca Retail Consulting CEO & Founder Yoan Montolio explains the 11-step process he has formulated to define brand and category strategies, as well as how to develop a successful shelving strategy.

Why Most Innovations Don't Make it in Retail 

In the retail channel, listing periods/slots per retailer have to be respected and aligned in a supplier's innovation launch plan. In this presentation, Yucca Retail Consulting Founder & CEO Yoan Montolio discusses how launching media without enough weighted distribution will dilute the investment effort, and that incremental Innovation fulfilling a consumer need is the only one that matters.

Why is it Dangerous to Build and Monitor a Business on 'Percentages'? (aka Base Effect)

Because percentages rely on two indicators (one divided by the other), and shows a correlation between two facts, it could be a misleading way of monitoring success. In this video, Yucca Retail Consulting's Yoan Montolio shows how percentages may show you a different reality of your sales, and why you should use absolute measures instead of them.