In May 2019, the Global eCommerce Leaders Forum (GELF) community comes together in Miami to explore LATAM digital retail. Grab your sunglasses and join us in sunny southern Florida in for a deep dive into LATAM ecommerce!
After successfully celebrating our 11th GELF at GELF LA in February 2019, we look forward to kicking off our first LATAM conference.
GELF LATAM brings together leaders from retail brands of all shapes and sizes. Global manufacturers and consumer brands selling direct-to-consumer will join digital native start-ups and some of the world’s most iconic brands for a full day of education and sharing. GELF LATAM will showcase digital commerce innovators and cross-border ecommerce experts from the fashion and apparel world, health and beauty, consumer electronics and many other product categories.
Are you a retail ecommerce leader interested in speaking at GELF LATAM? If so please contact speak@globalecommerce.co
If you are a marketplace operator or a solution provider that would like to sponsor and attend GELF, please contact sponsor@globalecommerce.co
As always, GELF speakers will deliver an energetic and engaging combination of global ecommerce strategy and cross-border tactics and best practices. Spend the day exploring how the latest digital commerce innovation can accelerate your LATAM market entry plans or help you grow sales in LATAM markets where you already have a presence. Share with other leaders which global growth models work best where – and what new ideas can help you jumpstart your international journey.
Together we’ll explore:
GELF combines networking and deeper-dive workshops with our morning & afternoon keynotes and showcase sessions. Our program offers retail professionals strategic insights and actionable take-aways about how ecommerce leaders are tackling their top LATAM market growth challenges and how they are making the case for investing in the next phase of LATAM growth.
Networking starts during breakfast, extends into lunch and wraps up during our late afternoon reception that follows our popular roundtables and mentoring sessions.
Bring your experiences and questions. Leave with insights and answers.
We are pleased to announce the updated program agenda for GELF LATAM next month in Miami. If you're interested in sharing your experiences with ecommerce in Central and South America on May 9th, please email speak@globalecommerce.co. Thanks!
As GELF’s community had grown in numbers so too has demand for richer regional insights and more market education on a country-by-country basis. So GELF LATAM is launching May 9th to help the GELF community accelerate its collective push into Central and South American markets.
GELF’s co-founders welcome our audience to Miami for our first LATAM day as we all thank our sponsors for collectively making our first GELF regional conference a success!
We’ll start the day by exploring the overall LATAM market opportunity. We’ll discuss key global ecommerce trends that frame the day’s program and how digital retail expansion strategies differ in LATAM from other regions.
GELF welcomes two of its most popular speakers to GELF LATAM – Jose Nino of U.S. Polo Association and Kai Li of Revolve.
Jose and Kai will each speak to the market drivers and ecommerce strategies that have helped their companies successfully enter and thrive in Latin America.
Jose Nino opens by reflecting on lessons learned in his recent past; insights that illustrate why companies should not overlook LATAM, especially when other popular ecommerce opportunities like China may seem more alluring on the surface. Jose will examine where LATAM fits in U.S. Polo Assn’s global strategy and how the U.S. Polo Assn has approached the LATAM opportunity.
Once a retail brand like U.S. Polo Assn prioritizes LATAM for retail expansion, the next important question is, “In which country do we invest first?” Learn more about the thinking behind the U.S. Polo Assn market prioritization process within LATAM.
Although Mexico and Colombia are Polo’s top LATAM markets for physical retail, Jose’s team just launched its third DTC site in Argentina. Join us and explore why the U.S. Polo Assn started with Argentina; why the company expects its LATAM ecommerce markets to ramp faster than other global markets and why U.S. Polo Assn might have considered giving marketplaces a little more love out of the gate than their initial strategy dictated.
Next Kai Li from Revolve joins us with a different spin on how to tackle the LATAM opportunity.
Revolve sees a huge potential in LATAM, but has been measured in its approach, knowing the complexities and costs associated with setting up shop in Brazil and Argentina
Revolve followed an analytics-first path in selecting Mexico as its LATAM foothold. Revolve launched its Mexican ecommerce operations in 2017 after noticing how the shopping journey in Mexico suggested a strong investment in shipping / logistics and services infrastructure would deliver attractive returns. Learn how Revolve has tapped into a special opportunity in Mexico with very little investment in marketing.
Kai Li will also explain how getting the product assortment right in Mexico has made all the difference in the world and why Revolve’s unique selection of fashion has resulted in Mexican shoppers selecting Revolve as one of the fastest-growing US brands in the country. Kai will also share how returns from Revolve’s social marketing campaigns have been “off the charts” – even when compared to social programs in markets like the US where social channels offer much larger audiences.
Mexico isn’t the end game for Revolve, however. Learn more about how Revolve views the other opportunities in LATAM and why and when Brazil factors into the international expansion equation.
Speakers:
As its latest boom-to-bust cycle winds down, Brazil is making a comeback. GELF’s morning program looks at opportunities in Brazil for US-based sellers and explores the myriad of challenges that await within the borders of South America’s most compelling – and most complex – market.
First and foremost are payment issues, followed closely by tariff and tax policies that confound cross-border ecommerce traders. Join BoaCompra’s Alain Bertrand Delcourt to learn more about the current state of ecommerce and mobile commerce in Brazil and the importance of carefully planning your Brazil strategy to account for the multitude of challenges ahead.
Also joining GELF is Jose Farinas, President of Latin America for Wahl, a global leader in hair clipper products. Wahl Clipper’s digital strategy in Latin America has grown from the Brazilian market and is in the midst of expansion to Argentina and other markets.
Jose will share his personal involvement in driving ecommerce expansion in Brazil and throughout the region, including Wahl’s social media strategies and its use of online marketplaces, distributor-based ecommerce and their own direct channels.
Speakers:
GELF’s exploration of LATAM market opportunities broadens to include Chile and Colombia as we welcome two leaders from Linio, one of the leading ecommerce partner platforms in South America. After combining forces with Falabella, the largest retailer in South America, Linio is positioned to help transform how US retailers and brands engage with LATAM shoppers.
GELF welcomes Carlos Victorica, Crossborder & Commercial Director at Linio, and Rodrigo De Angulo, Linio’s Commercial Director for Colombia to the morning keynotes. Carlos and Rodrigo will provide an insiders’ view of the state of LATAM ecommerce market. They will help the GELF audience understand and prioritize the top challenges they will face across LATAM. Rodrigo will then highlight why Colombia is one of the most dynamic growth markets in South America today.
Learn how cross-border ecommerce marketplace platforms can help sellers overcome key operational challenges including shipping/logistics and payments. Hear how to tackle other challenges such as inventory control, merchandise staging, optimizing long tail assortments and the crucial need to set and control pricing appropriately.
The session will also provide lessons learned from years of testing the popularity of products from online sellers outside of LATAM. Carlos and Rodrigo will provide guidance about what sells well (and what doesn’t) and how brands can best position their products in different LATAM markets.
Speakers:
Many well-known consumer and luxury brands have established traditional retail channels throughout LATAM. Others are still relatively new to LATAM retail.
But when it comes to ecommerce, most brands are still early in their digital programs. More and more see LATAM as “their next big bet” from a digital commerce perspective.
Learn how our panelists – and their clients – view the opportunity in LATAM vs. other developed and fast-growing markets in Europe and Asia. Hear more about how brands address top challenges in LATAM and how do they plan to tackle online fraud, payments, shipping and logistics.
Our panelists also discuss how to cost-effectively build a brand – or leverage existing brand equity – to connect with new generations of LATAM consumers who are quite literally coming online.
Learn more about the key roles that in-region partners will play as leading brands place their next bet on LATAM ecommerce growth.
Speakers:
Gen X, Millennials and older Gen Z shoppers don’t expect to wait weeks and pay high delivery fees to get what they want these days. Are the expectations of these “flat world shoppers” out of line with the on-the-ground and across-the-border realities of LATAM ecommerce delivery?
Brands selling cross-border or via in-country marketplaces in LATAM are faced with an increasingly urgent need to remove points of friction from the ecommerce shopping experience.
FedEx Express VP Rakesh Shalia opens the afternoon keynote panel with an overview about how a multitude of pain points related to the LATAM cross-border experience can compel retail brands to shy away from fast-growing opportunities in Central and South America.
Our panelists also weigh in with their own perspectives about the biggest challenges and roadblocks creating friction on LATAM – and how brands, retailers, merchants and sellers are developing strategies to deliver more seamless checkout and post-order digital experiences for LATAM shoppers.
Speakers:
Not a big global brand, but ready to tackle the ecommerce opportunities in Central and South America? You’re not alone!
GELF’s afternoon strategy showcase highlights three smaller ecommerce brands that have recently launched – or relaunched -their ecommerce operations in LATAM.
Hear from our panelists about where they started and why – and how they overcame the headaches they encountered setting up shop online in Latin America.
Speakers:
This session will explore how Avast, a leading global retailer of consumer cybersecurity solutions, has built a locally known and trusted brand centered on the needs of its LATAM customers.
Cristian Gallardo of Avast will show why a ‘Go Local’ strategy that covers brand marketing, free user acquisition, monetization and customer service must entail localization of payments as well.
Learn how adding local payment methods to the payment mix will result in more than just closing the revenue gap.
Offering the right payment experience to LATAM shoppers will position a retailer as a locally-savvy brand and will drive loyalty, both of which are prerequisites to sustainable revenue growth and market leadership.
Speaker:
Wondering whether your U.S. site experience will translate effectively for shoppers in Central and South American countries? Panelists will discuss how they are planning to connect with and engage LATAM online shoppers. We will explore how the shopping journey and the digital marketing mix differs from country to country in Central and South America and how leaders are planning for different customer expectations across LATAM.
Speakers:
VP, International, REVOLVE
Director, Global Ecommerce, HARMAN International
Vice President of Global Digital & E-Commerce Strategy, USPA Global Licensing Inc.
Founder, Bikini Luxe
President Latin America & Global Manager, Wahl Clipper
Co-Founder, Mundo Repuesto
Director of Ecommerce, PriceSmart
Crossborder & Commercial Director, Linio
Director Comercial, Colombia, Linio
Managing Partner, Luxury Retail Partners
President & CEO, SkyPostal
Managing Director, BoaCompra
VP, Marketing and Communications, FedEx Express, Latin America and the Carribbean
President, U.S., eShopWorld
Co-Founder, Global E-Commerce Leaders Forum
Co-Founder, Global E-Commerce Leaders Forum
Co-Founder, Global E-Commerce Leaders Forum
