Interviews
How did you become from a soccer player into a businessman?
My last year as a player was in Brazil, in the team Juventude of Caxias do Sul, RS, so I could get the Brazilian resident papers. I had already made contacts while I played, then I opened a business and, with the company already operating in Brazil, and several contacts and doors which opened, I started to develop the business with some companies in Uruguay.
How did you have the idea of founding a company in Porto Alegre?
At first it was only the opening and then came all the rest, I joined the two points, the contacts in Uruguay, with new contacts that emerged in Brazil, along with my partner, and we formed the company we have now.
Comersur is now one year old. What is the balance of this first year of work in Porto Alegre?
Yes, it was our first year and the balance is positive, although it is expensive and difficult to set up a company in Brazil, we had to overcome several difficulties, many people are discouraged from setting up companies there because there are constraints and a severe tax control. So it really is a major achievement having settled and remain in the market. For us the most positive aspect of this balance is having maintained all this time with a good commercial level.
One of the statements on which Comersur is founded says "to increase sales volumes and profit margins." How does this concept play with the Uruguayan exporters?
We go hand in hand with volume, our company grows from the volume. Once we are able to expand more in Brazil from the south, we are going to increase profits. At first you have to resign profits, to reinvest a significant percentage of the profits and devote them to promotion and advertising. In the future, more volume will increase profits.
You chose to start with food product lines very representative of Uruguay: Monte Cudine, Lapataia Ambrosoli. Why did you decide to add wines?
Mainly, the characteristic of our company is that its name is associated with top quality products, or premium, as they say in Brazil, and we intend to maintain that line. Every time a new product is incorporated, we perform a strict quality product analysis and we study the customer profile that will be its consumer. We try to stay within that line, privileging the quality of the products we sell.
How did the relationship with Antigua Bodega Stagnari start? What wines from this winery do you sell?
Lately emerged in Brazil a very important public identified with the Uruguayan wines, basically the Tannat, and from this observation we had the idea of selling Uruguayan wines, which have a very good acceptance mainly in southern Brazil. From this point we began the analysis of possible wineries with whom we could work, and we spoke with the people in Antigua Bodega Stagnari, whose wines are top, or premium, and they fit perfectly in what we want our company to represent. We are carrying three lines: Osiris, Ragazza and Cantharus, with excellent initial acceptance by our customers.
Who is the consumer of Uruguayan wines in Brazil?
We work very well with restaurants that sell meat, because the Tannat is closely linked with the consumption of meat, and it is a wine that performs well in southern Brazil, where barbecue and food are strong, and the weather helps a lot for consumption on the type of wine produced in our country.
Does the consumer add value to the Uruguayan wine against the wines of his own country?
Yes, they like it, they find an important difference. That is what we are being told by our customers, especially those that sell imported products. There are shops devoted exclusively to the sale of imported products which perform very good sales of Uruguayan wines in general.
Do you have plans to expand to other cities?
Currently we only work in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which is the trade agreement we have with the winery, we want to strengthen the brand and make it a wine recognized within this state, then we may discuss an expansion.
Is your company going to participate in any food show in Brazin in the near future?
We will soon take part in Expointer, a very important fair to be held from August 28 to September 5 in the city of Esteio, where of course we will carry these wines.
Finally, speaking in soccer terms, how would you express the future of the alliance between Antigua Bodega Stagnari and Comersur?
Well... I guess and hope it will end in a championship victory lap. It will certainly be a success.
On Tuesday, the Uruguayan soccer team will play the last game of his group. Which is your hunch?
I have great faith in the Uruguayan team. Uruguay started well, with a pretty good result in the beginning. Against the South African team we showed that we improved a lot and won fairly easily, we were above the level of the South African players. Based on how other results are given, with a draw we are classified ... and we will see what comes after that.
on wineries in Uruguay.
