Mercado Livre is increasing its bet on Brazil, its main market. The online retail company will contribute R$23 billion in the country, the largest amount ever invested in the country in 25 years. The areas to be boosted are technology, logistics, e-commerce and digital banking, in addition to marketing and retail media.
The expected amount includes allocation to capital assets and a portion of its strategic operating expenses associated with the development of the company’s business priorities for the coming years, including investments in artificial intelligence.
“We want to grow profitably, but sequentially we don’t want to make huge leaps. But it will be better every year, we don’t see anything extraordinary that worries us in this trajectory”it says Fernando Yunessenior vice president and leader of Mercado Livre in Brazil.
With the opening of a new distribution center in Pernambuco scheduled for the middle of the year, Yunes says that part of the investments should be allocated to opening more distribution centers in the country throughout the year. “One of the important points is the regionalization of our centers”, it says. Today, many cities, especially in the North and Northeast, are served by the fleet maintained in partnership between the retailer and Goal.
“Our plan is to continue expanding to other regions, adding more technology and making our logistics increasingly green and sustainable.” Currently, the company has only one distribution center in the Northeast region, in Bahia. The structure operates in Lauro de Freitas, in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, in an area of 56 thousand square meters.
The company also wants to increase the share of electric vehicles in its fleet, currently there are 2,600 electric cars.
Founded in 1999, Mercado Livre is today the second most valuable publicly traded company in Latin America, with a market capitalization of US$78 billion.
Tags: distribution center Bahia Mercado Livre invest R23 billion Brazil
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