This means that anyone doing business in Colombia, or considering doing so in the near future, needs to keep a close eye on these changes – particularly the new players in the market. Could any of them be your direct competition, or perhaps a potential partner?

Here are some outstanding developing players, which bring remarkable new options to consumers – and should be on your radar:

1. Tostao’

A company incorporated in Panamá, with German banker Michel Olmi leading the project, Tostao’ opened for business in 2016. While the company’s motto of “coffee and bread” may be simple, its efforts to open more than 100 sites in two years were far more complex. You can now find a Tostao’ almost anywhere in Colombia.

Tostao’ brings frozen raw products from Barcelona, Spain, and bakes them at individual stores. Customer reviews demonstrate an appreciative clientele. The baguette, a type of bread that, curiously, is not usually found in Bogotá’s bakeries, leads in popularity. Tostao’s premium quality coffee is sold at the same prices as the lower quality coffee commonly sold in the city.

Tostao’ does a good job of listening to its customers, upgrading its restaurants with more seating and serving sizes based on its clients’ feedback. Bottom line: you can now find predictable, high value coffee and bakery products all around the city, whenever you need a snack.

2. D1

Owned by Grupo Santodomingo, one of the largest economic groups in Colombia, in association with the Albrecht family from Germany (owners of discount grocery chain Aldi), D1 brought the concept of discount supermarkets to Colombia in 2009, and started a massive development in 2014.

D1 offers a few prime brands, such as premium beer Club Colombia, and low cost brands with hard-to-beat prices. Among its most attractive products is a brand of Italian pasta that outperforms local options in quality, at a fraction of the price. D1 also provides great value in snacks, cleaning products and canned food for its customers.

The stores are drawing increasing numbers of customers, and are making room for more cashiers in their stores. The ability to have packaged goods at affordable prices close to your home is new for many consumers, and clearly popular with this market.

3. Ara

Owned by Jeronimo Martins S.A. from Portugal, Ara opened its first stores in Colombia in 2013. The first locations were in Pereira, a city of 474,000 inhabitants, located in the “Coffee Axis” region of the country. In 2016, a large-scale expansion began in Bogotá.

The format is that of a small supermarket, easy to see from a distance because of the intense orange color of its storefronts and logo. Prices are usually attractive, with a strategy similar to hard discount stores: offer special pricing on prominent products for a limited time.

I bought a pot in Ara for a below-market price, and it’s proven to be a high quality product. I also discovered high quality roasted chickens sold with potatoes, on sale for just USD $3.50. Ara has done an excellent job of bringing a variety of fruits, vegetables and fresh foods to the market at affordable prices.

4. Rappi

This startup led by Colombian entrepreneurs was incorporated in 2015, after being selected by Y Combinator (a startup incubator) for finance support. Basically, Rappi will purchase items for you and deliver them to your home – groceries, tech, medicine, liquor, restaurant food, and anything else you can think of. Even when you need cash, they will withdraw it, take it to your home, and charge it to your registered credit card.

You can see Rappi’s employees in supermarkets with their orange phosphorescent suits and backpacks, or on their bikes and motorcycles moving from place to place. Success has been so rapid and overwhelming that some months ago they published a letter in the newspapers apologizing for delivery delays. It seemed a sincere recognition that the company was attempting to handle more orders than it was initially prepared to receive, and is committed to working on it.

With this service you can save time while getting the same prices as you would at the store, for only a small additional fee for the service. This is something people in Bogotá can do for many stores, now that Rappi’s technology has put the ability to use it in people’s hands.

The new kids on the block are dominating Colombian business – how do you stack up?

The bottom line is that consumers in Bogotá, and increasingly throughout all of Colombia, have a growing selection of interesting and useful new options.

One immediate impact is that some small shops will have difficulty competing with new players equipped with large amounts of capital to invest. Other companies will have a tougher time standing out in this increasingly saturated market.

Their success proves, however, that Colombian customers are willing to try new products and services, and that the right offerings have the potential to attract a sizeable market.

So what’s your next step – is it time to fold on your ambitions for Colombia? Or is now the time to stay the course, or even double down on your strategy?

The post Get inspired by these 4 new companies that are kicking the competition’s butt in Colombia appeared first on Trade Ready.

Now a tricky question: which is the second most populated country in South America? A fairly educated guess could lead us to answer Argentina. It looks pretty big on the map, and is the kind of country that has made headlines several times in the past few years.

You may be surprised to find that the second most populated country in South America is actually Colombia, home to 48.7 million people, five million more than Argentina.

So, if you’re looking for a new market to expand your business to, Colombia is an option you should consider. With such a sizable population, there’s a lot of market potential for many businesses. Even just the city of Bogotá, with over 9 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, is a larger market than any of the individual countries in Central America.

Who is your target market in Colombia?

So, let’s look at some Colombia statistics to help identify the best opportunities. In 1994, Colombia put in practice a household economic classification system comprised of  six “Estratos” (strata or layers). This was intended to charge differentiated rates for services such as water and electricity. Estratos 5 and 6 pay an extra quota that subsidizes Estratos 1 to 3, while Estrato 4 neither pays extra nor receives a subsidy.

This method of stratification produces a socio-economic classification that highly correlates with marketing relevant variables, such as purchasing power. Graphically, the Colombian population sorted by Estrato looks like this:

So 87% of the households, and consequently more than 90% of the population, belong to these three subsidized Estratos. The average monthly income per household in Estratos 1, 2 and 3 is around $300, $420 and $600 USD respectively, as of June 2015. The number rises to $700 USD for those in Estrato 4, $1,400 in Estrato 5 and $2,350 for Estrato 6.

The first insight you can draw from these statistics is that Colombia is a large market of low income consumers. This is a very normal picture for a Latin American country, with the exception of Chile.

Higher growth means higher future purchasing power

Now let’s take a look at how the purchasing power of these low income consumers has evolved in the previous 20 years. The following chart compares the evolution of minimum wage vs. inflation rate in Colombia:

Successive governments have committed to increase minimum wage by more than the inflation rate year after year. In parallel, they have controlled inflation, which hasn’t been a two-digit figure since it hit 16.7% back in 1998. This marks an important difference between Colombia and the rest of the countries in South America, many of whom have struggled with higher inflation.

Colombia’s gross domestic product (GDP) has also consistently grown over the past 20 years, with the sole exception of a -4.19% rate in 1999. By 2015, Colombia’s GDP was 3.17 times that of its GDP in 1995, while Brazil and Argentina’s GDPs were only 2.25 times what they were in 1995, demonstrating Colombia’s continued potential as a market.

It turns out that this large, lower income country has a recent history of steady growth in terms of purchasing power. In the future, it is likely that this trend will be sustained and even grow.

An open economy offers enticing opportunities

It is clear that Colombia has several structural limitations, which are common to countries under development. But there are some distinctive traits that make Colombia an interesting market to explore.

Its economic system is quite open. You can register a company by yourself in just one week.

Prices go up and down depending on demand, with little to no government intervention. Both customers and vendors are used to having plenty of options, often composed of a mixture of national and imported products and services.

Politics makes a big difference between Colombia and its neighboring countries. For several administrations the country has been ruled by presidents with important academic and political backgrounds, whose policies have promoted an open market. The same has been true for ministers and those who hold key positions such as the president of the General Bank. Overall, a close relationship with the U.S. has also been a constant, making trade with Colombia easier for American businesses.

Some of the limitations to Colombia’s economic development have come from armed guerrillas that have ravaged the country for more than 50 years. Potential business opportunities, like oil exploration, have been limited by the security issues associated with this conflict.

The good news is that the military power of irregular forces has been gradually reduced over last 10 years, and peace negotiations seem to be leading them to an end. Improvements in transportation infrastructure has recently started to develop as well, replacing old small roads and allowing goods to move more quickly throughout the country.

Big companies are already here, so make sure you don’t fall behind

Technically, Colombia is a country under construction. It has about the same population as Spain, spread across a geographical area that is twice as large.

Many international companies have successfully launched businesses here. In most of the high level malls, you can find many of the same stores as in New York or London.

You can also buy a Ferrari, if you have the money, in the recently opened authorized dealer of Bogotá’s Carrera 19. Or maybe you prefer to simply enjoy a Starbucks coffee in one of more than 10 locations opened since July 2014.

There is, by far, much more to discover in Colombia. If you are considering expanding your business to South America, make sure it’s at or near the top of your list. If it’s not, you could be missing out on one of the region’s best opportunities for decades to come.

The post Colombia – a market worth exploring appeared first on Trade Ready.

Ann Archer, CITP|FIBP, is an International Logistics Specialist for General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a company based out of London, ON which manufactures light armoured vehicles (LAVs) and provides full fleet life cycle support including upgrades, repair services and training. Its global customers are governments and armed forces around the world.

With twenty-three years of experience in international trade, Ann is capable of taking on even the largest projects, ensuring that the goods she is responsible for will reach their destination without issue anywhere in the world.

From small-town Ontario to global markets

Ann’s global trade career began in 1992, working as an Export Sales and Marketing Manager for Cold Springs Farm Ltd. in Thamesford, ON. In the role, she was responsible for the international exports of turkey commodities.

It required close coordination with both the Canadian Turkey Marketing Board, to ensure all production quotas were met at a national level, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), to ensure all documentation and quality inspection met regulations.

It was during Ann’s years in this role that she first encountered FITT, and decided to take FITT courses.

She says that taking the courses made her feel confident that her skills matched up against the highest competency standards for international trade professionals.

In 2006, she earned her elite CITP®|FIBP® designation, and feels that having the designation has had an enormous impact on her career, particularly in proving her expertise in the industry.

Being a CITP®|FIBP® has numerous positive influences. For example, it is a symbol of competency and credibility when working with other trade partners.

She also says that completing FITT courses has similarly proved her international trade knowledge and commitment to it as a career.

“Education teaches discipline, provides self-esteem. Education tells your employers that you can work hard to accomplish things. Employers look for people who have stuck with their education. They want an employee who they know is going to be able to discipline themselves to come in to work, set goals and achieve them.”

Meeting new challenges in a new industry

After spending fifteen years with Cold Springs, Ann decided to move to GDLS to accept her current role in 2007.

As an International Logistics Specialist, Ann is responsible to ensure both import and exports of material and vehicles reach their international destinations compliantly, meeting cost, schedule and performance.

One step for Ann is dealing with ITAR (International Trade and Arms Regulations) compliance, TDG (Transportation of Dangerous Goods), Canadian import-export controls regulated by  Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and ensuring all regulations set out by the Canadian Border Security Agency  and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are met.

Along with compliance documents, Ann has also had to execute and support letters of credit for foreign government agencies.

Another of her responsibilities is negotiating contract air charters to take vehicles or related equipment like turrets to countries like Switzerland, South Africa or Saudi Arabia for demonstrations or exhibitions to government officials.

Ann frequently uses different temporary export methods to send vehicles to trade shows in countries like the UAE, France, Australia and India, as well as for demonstrations for government officials in Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle East.

She must balance the pros and cons of air, ocean and ground transportation to find the best single or multi-modal method of sending the goods to their intended destination, while working with the necessary freight forwarders and all levels of government officials needed to approve the exports.

Speaking the languages of her trade

Ann says that one of the challenges of her position is remembering not only the terms and acronyms of international trade, but also those of the customer.

“We ship a lot of unique material and use various acronyms and often make reference to military terms.  One day I received an email that simply stated that according to Hoyle, this is how it should work.

“Puzzled, I read it a couple of times, wondering to myself if Hoyle might be a reference to a customer or Army representative. Finally I turned to my coworker who was copied on the same email and asked who or what is a Hoyle? Their response was “You’re asking me? I am from Europe.”

“My supervisor had overheard the question and stated, “Isn’t that an old rule book on card games?” Sure enough, it was.”

It turned out that the phrase “according to Hoyle” now means the speaker is asserting their authority on the subject.

The moral of the story is if you want people to understand you the first time, please be clear and concise and don’t use slang or acronyms.

If you do need to use acronyms, spell them out the first time you use them.  Remember we work in a diverse environment, with different age groups, backgrounds and ethnicities.”

The right people create the right results

Since Ann started her current role, she has managed to achieve major goals.

Ann was able to synchronize the company’s scheduling production with their ocean transportation and end user delivery requirements, saving the company over $6 million.

She is also proud of her ability to play a role in the company’s larger objectives, such as being awarded contracts with the Colombian Government, the Peruvian Government, and Saudi Arabia.

For her efforts, Ann has won several major company awards, being on the team receiving the GDLS Global Supply Chain Management Council Excellence Award twice, as well as “several Spontaneous Recognition awards for cost avoidance, outstanding efforts and going above and beyond expectations” in her role.

She credits the quality of professionals in the company for her personal and team success.

“In today’s global environment, competing against or working with several strategic partners, under a strongly regulated environment, companies cannot afford to be complacent. The strength is in the people.

Having a well-educated, diversified group of people, I believe, has helped carry us forward, and remain strong and ahead of our competition.

After completing her FITT courses and having her CITP®|FIBP® designation for over eight years, there is no doubt that Ann has the education and expertise necessary to continue to excel in global trade, and to help her company stay ahead in international markets.

The post Ann Archer, CITP|FIBP – International Logistics Specialist appeared first on Trade Ready.

As a first-timer to Chile, I have to say what I like most about the country is the people. I just love their Latin American personalities, which tend to be professional and respectful, but also warm, open and full of life!

I arrived in Santiago in the afternoon on November 4^th and was greeting with sunny 30 degrees Celsius weather. By the evening the temperature had dropped to about 15 degrees, but this was still warmer than what I’d left behind in Ottawa.

FITTskills developments in Colombia and Chile
Our FITTskills program is already being taught at the Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Bogotá, Colombia. And by this spring, our courses will start being delivered in an evening-class format to professionals in both the private and public business sectors in Santiago, Chile at the Universidad de Chile.

The University is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. Nearly 40,000 students attend the five different satellite campuses and several experimental stations situated across the country. The plan is to eventually expand the evening program and incorporate FITTskills into the school’s current full-time international business master’s program.

Down to business in Santiago
On the morning of the 5^th, I met up with Carlos Ronderos for breakfast. Carlos is a partner at Ronderos y Cardenas S.A.S., the Colombian consulting firm we’ve teamed up with to help deliver our FITTskills program in South America.

Carlos is very committed to getting our FITT training into the region. His company has been assisting us by translating our FITT program-material into Spanish as well as by helping us make some invaluable local connections.

After breakfast Carlos and I headed over to the World Trade Center Santiago. We met with the General Manager Matías Pérez and his colleagues Francisco Gutierrez A. and Jéssica Baio Freire. It was great to hear that they’re very interested in FITTskills, and that they support the Universidad de Chile with their delivery plans for the program.

We then visited the University, where I had the pleasure of meeting Olga Lucia Lozano F. and Doris Lopez Giral in person for the first time. I’ve exchanged emails with both of these ladies as they’ve worked to spearhead the implementation of FITTskills at the University. Doris works as a professor, and is very keen to start incorporating more practical and usable skills and knowledge development into the University’s programs. This is where her interest in FITT and the FITTskills program comes in.

We ended the day at the Canadian embassy in Santiago, where we met trade commissioners Peter Furesz, Brenda Wills and Evelyne Coulombe. We updated them on FITT’s activities and plans in Chile, as well what we’re currently doing in Colombia.

There’s a lot of interest from the embassy with respect to doing speaking engagements at the Universidad de Chile once the FITTskills courses start being offered.

It will be our pleasure to keep the embassy in-the-know going forward so that we can foster connections between the embassy and the international trade program at the University.

International trade training at the Universidad de Chile

On Wednesday, the University set up a mini-conference for me. I had the opportunity to speak to individuals from the public and private business sectors in Chile, as well as some of the school’s faculty members, about FITT’s international trade competencies. I discussed what these competencies are, why they’re so important for individuals working in global business, and our latest integrative trade competencies developed through the research we finalized this year as part of our International Trade Workforce Strategy.

There was a lot of interest from the audience, and I was able to answer some great questions about the competencies and our training program.

After the conference, we had time to chat more with University faculty with respect to how they can start delivering the FITTskills program. We had a couple of suggestions whereby R&C in Colombia will send several of their instructors to the University to deliver training, but also to provide train-the-trainer sessions for local instructors. This will enable us to familiarize local instructors with the FITT material as well as our teaching methodologies.

Later in the day, a colleague of Carlos invited us to have a special lunch with several individuals from the Banco de Chile. I met with Christian Schiessler, Director, and Francisco Garces G., who sits on the board. Both were interested to hear about our current activities in the country, and were very supportive of our plans for the future.

Looking ahead to more FITT activity in Latin America
It was certainly a whirlwind two-day trip, but I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to visit Chile. I’m looking forward to building on our relationships with our new FITTskills delivery partner and contacts, and I’m excited to continue expanding the FITTskills program in Latin America!

Have questions about FITTskills in Latin America or have comments about the Colombian or Chilean markets? Leave them for me below!

The post Expanding the FITTskills international trade training program into Chile appeared first on Trade Ready.

I am going to start by asking you to do two things:

1. Put aside the stereotypes for a moment and,
2. Please undertake to always spell the country’s name correctly…..it’s Colombia, not ColUmbia!

Mention Colombia to people a few years back and coffee, drugs and FARC guerrillas were often the three things people affiliated with Colombia. But today, fair trade, organic coffee is growing rapidly and the two latter are both on the decline. There is just so much more to Colombia these days.

Rapid evolution of Colombia’s business landscape

As the fourth-largest country in South America, and one of the continent’s most populous nations with more than 46 million people, the Republic of Colombia has witnessed a revolution of its business landscape thanks to mobile communications. In 2011, internet connections doubled to six million, with mobile making up almost half of these.

The country now enjoys a dynamic market with penetration rates unimaginable a decade ago. In 2012, in Barcelona, Spain, for the first time in history, Colombia won the award as the Government with the most innovative telecommunication policies in the world. It won the “Government Leadership Award 2012” for the Live Digital Plan, at the Global Telecommunications Conference in Barcelona. (source: GSMA)

As I write this, I am near the end of an eighteen day Canadian-Colombian Export Rally for Colombian small and medium exporters (SMEs). This Export Rally was put on by my firm with the assistance of PROEXPORT, Colombia’s Export Promotion Department, and made possible by assistance from Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada through the CATRTA program administered by Conference Board of Canada.

We have held the Export Rally in Bogota, Cali, Medellin and Barranquilla (Colombia’s four largest cities). This is my third tour of these four cities in the last couple of months and my fifth visit to Colombia this year.

 I have met over four hundred Colombian SMEs on this trip alone, and their commitment, skill and enthusiasm is changing Colombia’s landscape.

Diverse opportunities for Canadian SME’s

Our company is an SME, and we have already been active in Colombia for almost two years. Based upon the foregoing, I am very surprised that we haven’t seen more evidence of Canadian SMEs already on the ground in Colombia.

If you are a Canadian company in need of ICT (Information and Communications Technology), digital animation and good programmers, head to Colombia! If you are in agrifoods, specialty food or health food, head to Colombia to sell your products!

And – if you are gluten intolerant/allergic – Colombia is the land of yucca, the gluten free alternative to make your pancakes, English muffins and sandwiches – Loblaws in Canada just introduced 8 brand new Gluten Free products for sufferers of one of the fastest growing allergies in North America.

If you are a Canadian buyer – on 4 and 5^th September, PROEXPORT is hosting a Matchmaking Forum for Canadian Buyers , a Business Matchmaking Forum to uncover buying opportunities of the Colombian Agribusiness, Manufacturing, Textile and Apparel Industry benefiting from 0% import tariff.

Are you planning to go? I am!  It is time to push aside the stereotypes and look to Colombia as an exciting, vibrant and growing market for Canadian goods and services.

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