Braun and Oral-B extend South American travel retail presence

Personal care specialists Braun and Oral-B are extending their footprint in South American travel retail.

Tax Free Trade, which is the exclusive global travel retail agent for Braun and Oral-B, has collaborated with distribution specialist Brandlink, to secure listings in selected stores along the Uruguayan border. Products are also featured on the Mercado Libre ecommerce site.

Tax Free Trade is determined to extend the Braun and Oral-B footprint in South American travel retail

Tax Free Trade Senior Market Strategy Manager Sven Olschewski said further growth in Uruguay is planned. “We are looking into other retail formats, off and online, to grow distribution strategically beyond border stores,” he said.

Brandlink Business Development Manager Matias Ressia commented: “Within the last year, we have opened various key pharmacies in Uruguay.” He added that Oral-B’s status as a globally renowned brand made it “ideal” for these stores.

Mercado Libre Uruguay Country Manager Rafael Hermida commented: “We are very excited about Oral B and Braun’s official stores in Mercado Libre Uruguay. Health and beauty is a high-growth category that represents an interesting business opportunity in the growing ecommerce landscape of Uruguay.”

Olschewski underlined the importance of the South American travel retail market for Braun and Oral-B.

He said regional growth for the brands is between +5% and +10%, with a focus on further expansion in Brazilian travel retail, where Braun and Oral-B products are particularly strong at stores in São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.

“Neither Braun nor Oral-B have a good distribution depth in many local markets of South America, which makes our customers get the brands exclusively from us. So our points of sale are often the only source for consumers to get in touch with the brands and, ultimately, buy products,” Oleschewski said.

“We are still growing with new customers and working on new listings in, for example, Colombia.”

Elsewhere in South America, Braun and Oral-B are available in selected stores in Brazil (with Dufry do Brazil), Peru (WDFG Lima) and Argentina (Interbaires). As reported, Braun has collaborated with Paraguayan travel retailer Shopping China to grow sales of personal care items in the border channel.

The partners are focusing on products that are not available on the domestic markets in Brazil and in the Shopping China stores in Ciudad del Este, Salto del Guairá and Pedro Juan Caballero (all in Paraguay).

Food & Beverage The Magazine eZine