2021 PRESIDENTS SPECIAL INTERVIEWS

By Leda Cavalcanti and Dilnara Titara

The abrupt halt in activities caused by the pandemic in 2020 put obstacles that seemed insurmountable ahead of all sectors, precisely in a year that had started reasonably well, with an 8% increase in sales of home appliances and electronics by the beginning of March. With the stores closed and a climate of near inertia, the segment went to the fight with agility and creativity.

Retail accelerated e-commerce, expanded the product mix and created support actions for those unfamiliar with the platform. The industry used its director channel to communicate with the consumer. If he could not reach them, both moved towards him, facing the well-known challenges of the Brazilian logistics network. There were losses, it is true, but the actions contributed to making the scenario less impactful.

Now, strategic planning is urgently needed to recover the economy. Measures such as emergency aid helped to ease the situation last year, injected resources into the economy, but there are no conditions to make them permanent. Palliative actions are useful at any given time but, advances necessarily involve mass vaccination of the population. It is she who will dictate the pace of the resumption.

Brazil needs a consistent agenda, with the inclusion of long-awaited reforms, such as the tax since the current system hinders growth and productivity. There are countless problems to be solved and many uncertainties. The country needs to be faster and offer greater stability so that 2021 does not become another year of multiple challenges.

BANCO SEMEAR

It remains firm in its purpose of sowing financial inclusion, says the commercial director. “Especially at a time when retailers need our support so much. We forecast an average growth of 20% in our production in 2021.”

One of the goals this year is to expand the portfolio, says Mônia. “We will deliver more value, both to the economy and to the customer, and focus on training and qualifying employees.”

“We expect an average growth of 20% in our production in 2021.”

To activate the sector, two points are essential. “The effective implementation of the Positive Registry in a broad way, covering the entire ecosystem in the sharing of information, and greater legal security in the granting and recovery of credit,” says Mônia.

CORE-SP

He has optimistic expectations, says the managing partner. “In the pandemic, there was an increase in sales and a raise of representation, agency and business mediation between commercial representatives and companies. We believe that the number of registered this year will increase.”

Reducing taxation on activity is a goal. “Trade representatives, who generate jobs and profit for the industry, need simplified rules, such as better framing in the Simples Nacional and lower ISS rates,” Sidney says.

” We believe that the number of registered this year will increase.”

This semester, he will host six events from the series Conexão Seccionais, Sidney says. “We will bring content, debates and information about sales, marketing, personal promotion and benefits to those registered.”

EUROPE ASSISTANCE BRASIL

Expectations are good and are related to the country’s economic recovery as the population’s immunization progresses, says the CEO. “We understand that assistance services, especially those related to health, well-being and home, will increasingly be among the most in demand today. In 2020, we maintained the quality in the provision of our services.”

This year, the company will prioritize the expansion of product lines for health and homes. “We will also continue the strategy of digitizing customer service, as well as expanding our distribution channels, with retail being the main one. We believe in the Brazilian market”, says Jorge.

“We believe that this is a democratic and highly adherent channel to further assist the final consumer.”

The retail sector has the opportunity to further diversify its product lines and financial services, says Jorge. “We believe that this is a democratic and highly adherent channel to further assist the final consumer. They are: assistance for vehicles, residential (emergency and convenience) and health, such as telemedicine services, which are currently very restricted to those who have an insurance policy.”

FARAH SERVICE

The company’s biggest expectation, in 2021, is to leave a bigger mark in the city, says the founder and CEO. “This means improving the lives of citizens every day through our projects. Therefore, we changed our slogan of urban improvements to the city for the people. The indicators show that, this year, we may have a 300% increase in revenue compared to 2020.”

This year, Farah Service has a big project with the Government of the State of São Paulo, which is the Parque Linear Novo Rio Pinheiros. “It will be the newest leisure and sports option in the capital, with 8.2 km of bike path and tracks for walks and runs along the banks of the Pinheiros River, a great national postcard,” says Michel.

“The Parque Linear Novo Rio Pinheiros will be the newest leisure and sports option in the capital of São Paulo.”

In the opinion of the founder and CEO, the pandemic, despite having brought difficult times and uncertainties, left, as a legacy, the rediscovery of green areas and public spaces. “It reconnected people to cities, especially green areas, and made everyone rediscover the surroundings. It is a pleasant surprise to see that the largest number of people in public spaces has created a way to enjoy life in environments that are truly plural.”

GfK

Along with the 2020 uncertainties, customers were had their inquiries, says the LatAm general manager. “The question ‘what one can do to resume consumption, adding value to the home space’. With the boom in software and devices sales, we suggest that prices stay as-is, as demand will naturally happen. With the emergency aid we were the first to advise that demand would be strong in both North and northeast regions.

The pandemic has a long-term impact, especially on the economy, says Felipe. “There are consumers who saved in 2020 and are fearful to spend. There are those who are worrisome about unemployment and not sure if the emergency aid will continue. The only alternative for the small electronics is innovation, not only in products, but in news ways to relate to the consumer, launching new rental models, which can substitute purchasing, revising its promotion and price strategy. If we don’t positively impact the consumer, we won’t change their consumption dynamics.

“If we don’t positively impact the consumer, we won’t change their consumption dynamics.”

GfK is developing new customer types of service to optimize resources and invest in innovation, says Felipe. We added Artificial Intelligence (IA) to our database, to provide us with recommendations to increase revenue. The reaction is very positive and predicts a conservative revenue growth.”

INDÚSTRIA FOX

2021 is a very promising year says the CEO. “Our indicators point to growth of over 30% over 2020. Investing in our people was the key that leveraged the business.”

Fox operates in recycling electronic waste, replacing electronics in energy efficiency programs, and in repair / remanufacturing, a segment with good results in 2020, says the CEO. “We developed software that allows us to have 100% traceability of remanufactured products from the post-industry and post-retail.”

“Investing in our people was the key that leveraged the business.”

This in three goals, says Marcelo. “Reinforce the post-industry repair / remanufacturing channel, seeking new partnerships, growth in the electronics recycling unit, based on the PNRS, and strengthening the team.”

KM CARGO

The company’s expectations in 2021 are the best, says the commercial director. “With the vaccination of the population, possibly, there will be a sharp drop in contamination. Thus, the market, in all segments, mainly in the electronics sector, will automatically return to normal and self-regulate. We believe that our revenue will exceed last year by more than 20%.”

“We believe that our revenue will exceed by more than 20% last year.”

During the pandemic, KM Cargo grew, says Mauro. “We had to adapt to a new normal, look for daily alternatives and reinvent ourselves. The company headed for a digital transformation and achieved a considerable leap, both internally and externally, in the technological part.” This year, KM Cargo invests in increasing the fleet of armored vehicles to support sales and the growth it sees for the second half, as well as in the purchase of armored and refrigerated trucks.

Several factors can activate the electronics and transportation sectors, explains Mauro. “The main points that we must highlight are the review of the tax burden, which today is a consensus across the market, infrastructure and investments in highways, railways, and airports, in addition to improving credit conditions, which impact from the driver to the driver. the final consumer.”

OMNI

Expectations are positive for this year, says the president. “Our budget forecasts growth in all businesses compared to 2020. We are working to increase our credit portfolio by 20% this year.”

Among the main actions planned by the company for 2021 are the expansion of its digital channels and the strengthening its physical presence as well, says Marcio. “We are going to make them more productive to provide different experiences. We will also seek excellence in service to our customers and partners and expand the portfolio with new products.”

“We will seek excellence in service to our customers and partners and expand the portfolio with new products.”

With Covid-19, new ways of working and doing business have emerged. Omni expanded its channels, which became more efficient. “The pandemic broke barriers of productivity and adaptability, work started to be developed from anywhere; this is a great legacy. We had a lot of interaction with partners and customers, but at this point, we believe that the physical relationship makes the difference. The vaccine will bring greater security. People need tranquility to live,” comments Marcio.

PAYPAL

Globally, 2020 was essential for the payment media market, says the senior director. “We completed the strongest year in our history, with record growth in number of new customers, volume, operating revenues, profits and free cash flow. In the last quarter of 2020, the company’s revenue hit $6.12 billion, 23% growth over the same period in 2019.”

By 2020, it added over 72 million new accounts globally to its platform. It reached 377 million active accounts. “We enter 2021 energized to build a year of results as strong as those of 2020. Locally, we will keep working to enable democratization of financial services to Brazilians. The pandemic has shown that we need to work for the inclusion of more people in the digital economy,” says Paula.

“In the last quarter of 2020, the company’s revenue hit $6.12 billion, 23% growth over the same period in 2019.”

The sector, however, faces challenges related to infrastructure, security and lack of knowledge about the technology, assets Paula. “We need to have a universal internet in the country, with affordable rates. We also need to invest in more cybersecurity to reduce fraud rates in Brazil, which are among the highest in the world, and to invest in the digital education of the Brazilian people. This virtualization is the path that will be taken worldwide.”

PROSEGUR

Due to the strategy of diversifying products and solutions that lead to dilution of inherent risks to the pandemic and market effects, the company has good revenue expectations in 2021, says the Cash commercial director. “We are betting on the pulverization of our customers portfolio and capillarity. Currently, Prosegur reaches around 80% of Brazilian cities.” The company promises some novelties for the year that aggregate solutions to its ecosystem.

Prosegur is focused on innovation, digital transformation and closer proximity with customers, states Sérgio. “This way, we will channel important investments for such actions and present to market, this year, solutions that actually make a difference within the areas we work with.”

“We are betting on the pulverization of our customers portfolio and capillarity.”

In life nothing is static, as the pandemic has shown that, says Sérgio. “We have to be prepared for this constant movement. I believe that companies, class entities, the government and communities must focus on people, both in generating jobs and in opening different possibilities of activities and new technical and behavioral qualifications. Even with challenges, we walk towards a more balanced society, able to take good lessons from what we are living through.”

VTEX

The company, which has come from sustainable results in recent years, grew more than 100% in CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) in 2020, and opened its first physical office in Singapore, says the president. “In 2021, we will continue to invest in customer excellence – more than doubling our team of technology and business specialists – and in the training of e-commerce. After 20 years in the market, our results are excellent.”

The world will be different when the pandemic passes, says Rafael. “It showed us the need to adapt. One of its main legacies is the fast and powerful reaction and digital transformation of some sectors, which started to invest in innovation and diversified their channels and products. There was a fear of exploring new things, but they realized that this is the way to survive.”

“After 20 years in the market, our results are excellent.”

At a time when virtually the entire sector is betting on the electronic market, retailers should invest in logistics solutions, such as real-time tracking of last-mile deliveries, says Rafael. “We bet on the marketplace and will continue with our expansion and product work. We believe that we will continue to gain recognition in the international market for technology for commerce, growing our name in Brazil.”

YES CERTIFICAÇÕES

It has started operations eight years ago in debureaucratization of the certification processes within Inmetro and Anatel and, since then, celebrates its results, says the president. “We have ended 2020 with a 15% revenue increase over 2019, and this year’s goal is to expand by 20%.”

The company has focused on automation and invested in personnel qualification, a work that continues in 2021. “New demands have emerged in the technology market, which requires professional training”, tells Geancarlo.

“We have ended 2020 with a 15% revenue increase over 2019.”

With the progress of technology, 2020 ended up being better than expected for the telecommunications sector, highlights the president. “With our services, we intend to reach more clients.”

Source: Eletrolar News Magazine #141