“The big misconception many have about South America is that it is one big, homogeneous market like the USA, but it is not that way at all”, Cauce says.  “South America is a compilation of many smaller, unique markets.  You can travel from one side of Europe to the other in about 3.5 hours; in South America, it would take 9.5 hours to make that type of trip.  It is a vast area with a few market highlights where you can do business.  It is also very expensive to travel between countries requiring a substantial financial investment to be successful.” “The key to doing business in South America is to be in the market for the long term and represented in as many markets as possible.  You must be ready to ride the economic and political highs and the lows.” Here’s what Cauce had to say about the various countries in South America:  “Brazil, the country with the largest population has boomed for the past ten years, but now it is in transition due to politics and economic factors.  Brazil has a tax rate as high as 80% on imported textiles in order to protect its local textile industry.”  “$100 product ends up costing $180 plus cost of freight in Brazil”. “Other large countries like Colombia, Argentina and Chile has had ups and downs over the years.  Having good distributers and a long term strategy has proven a successful combination.  Venezuela in particular has suffered heavily in recent years”. Cauce explains that Kravet successfully sells many of its North America licensed designer collections in South America like – Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren in some markets and Lilly Pulitzer.  Lee Jofa’s, Kelly Wearstler collections are a hot commodity at the moment in these markets”. “We are in just about every market in South America and I have seen our business steadily grow over the past 24-year period.” Related