MARKET - Brazil's virgin territory
Brazil is on a fast-track to growth, and watchmakers are impatiently looking out for the least sign of an opening in this still to be conquered market. Some even claim that with lower import duties, sales of timepieces there could outstrip those in the United States.
HH Magazine de la Haute Horlogerie - 16 February 2012
Manuel Palos
"We are not a tiger, moving in leaps and bounds. We are a whale that makes slow but steady progress." This declaration by former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso could easily describe Brazil's economic boom of recent years. The country that seemed destined to always be the next big thing for watchmakers is now facing a highly promising present. Its positive performance makes a sharp contrast with the debt crisis in Europe, or problems of inequality in the United States. And unlike the other BRIC countries (Russia, India and China), the nation of "order and progress" has grown on a foundation of democracy and welfare. How many other emerging economies can say the same?
Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, ambassadress for IWC © IWC
In 2010, the Brazilian institute for geography and statistics announced 7.5% growth, the country's highest ever in 25 years. The International Monetary Fund forecasts close to 5% for 2012, despite the impact of recession in Europe and the overheating Chinese economy. (...)
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