A two-day event unboxing the embryonic Brazilian duty free land border shops business begins in earnest today (5 November).

Primer Encuentro de Border Duty Free Shops de América Latina La Frontera Hoy (4-6 November), a partnership between ASUTIL and the Chamber of Free Shops of Uruguay (CEFSU), takes place at the Sheraton Hotel in Porto Alegre.

The event ­– open to members and non-members – gathers retail operators, suppliers and other stakeholders keen to discover more detailed information on operations, regulations, logistics and the legalities of running the shops.

Speakers include Argentinian Economist Carlos Melconian; Maria Villanueva, Senior Consultant, m1nd-set; Diego Lico, President of the Chamber of Free Zones of Uruguay; Gustavo Fagundes, General Manager, Brazil and Bolivia, Dufry Group; Luis Fernando Lorenzi, Auditor-Fiscal/Superintendent, Receita Federal; Oscar Bentancur, Managing Partner, Via Balcão; and Brazilian politician Frederico Antunes.

The South American duty free industry finally received the green light last year from Brazil’s department of federal revenue (Receita Federal) to operate border shops in any of the 32 twin cities bordering Brazil last year, a process that has been delayed due to the implementation of new software among other administrative and political issues.

Dufry, Caraballat Free Shop and Emporio Duty Free are among a crop of retailers to have already opened shops.

The conference begins this morning (5 November), followed by post-lunch networking time. A welcome dinner courtesy of Dufry will take place in the evening. Delegates will be able to enjoy the conference and networking time on Wednesday 6 November, with a lunch closing the event. 

For more information, click here.

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