Businesses with mass consumption products have a good year despite lack of foreign currency

In Santa Cruz and Bolivia, Despite the currency crisis, 2024 was a good year for businesses that have mass consumption products. The lack of dollars has impacted many companies in the country because it has made it difficult for them to plan and timely supply imported products, but this was seen as “a challenge” and therefore they had to adopt solid strategies to mitigate the effects.

Francisco Javier Roda Bagnolicommercial manager of ROHO Homecenter, stated that vWe are closing this 2024 administration with a growth in sales greater than that of the durable goods market.. “Despite the economic situation, the client now values ​​the formal market more and in our case it has allowed the client to have greater savings when purchasing products to improve their home.”

Regarding the lack of dollars, the executive indicated that they have had to “rethink” the pricing and assortment strategy due to the situation. Therefore, if they have seen increases due to the impact on the logistics chain due to the timely lack of foreign currency, they have managed to guarantee an offer according to the needs of their clients, he assured.

Regarding stock, the launch of new brands and exclusive products is planned for 2025. “Local and international suppliers trust the work we have been doing in recent years and for this reason they will continue to have an important presence in our points of sale. Our efficient inventory management characterizes us to be able to continue incorporating more products.”

Regarding the challenges and perspectives for next year, The executive pointed out that the optimization of resources will be important, both humanly and financially, and announced that they will have a new distribution center, a new store in the southwest area of ​​Santa Cruz and will strengthen their online presence. “Our short-term goal is to be able to serve a greater number of Bolivians, offering a world-class shopping experience where they can find better products at a lower price.”

Eliete Malpartida Abettnational marketing manager of Camsa, said that by 2024 on the subject sales achieved positive aspects, such as significant growth in the categories of white goods, black goods, appliances, cell phones and motorcycles, all supported by national campaigns that were able to capture customer attention and strengthen its position in the market.

“Our presence at Expocruz helped us get closer to customers and increase brand recognition with an interactive and strategic space, which also helped with the generation of new leads. Our digital channel Camsa Online had an outstanding performance, with growth in sales and greater conversion thanks to exclusive promotions,” he added.

As for the negative aspects, Economic uncertainty and the shortage of foreign currency impacted its inventory planning at some point and generated a certain delay in the importation of some products.. “However, this motivated us to optimize our operations and strengthen our strategic alliances to ensure the availability of essential products. Additionally, we focus on improving the customer experience with faster deliveries and options that keep our customers loyal to the brand.”

As far as the currency crisis is concerned, this It was seen as a challenge facing the country as a whole and that is why they reacted “immediately.” with a solid strategy to mitigate the effects.

They had to optimize inventories, prioritizing high-moving products and restructuring demand projections. They also diversified suppliers and identified national and international alternatives with better logistical conditions, and strengthened local channels by enhancing their distribution and online sales network to maximize resources.

“These actions allowed us to maintain our stable operation and continue meeting the needs of our customers. Strengthen promotions for products in stock and optimize our digital campaigns to focus sales on lines with greater availability. “This allowed us to maintain a constant flow of products and provide customers with competitive options without compromising our quality of service,” he said.

Regarding stock, Malpartida indicated that to liquidate 2024 products, end-of-year campaigns have been designed, such as Christmas promotions and exclusive flash discounts in its virtual store. These actions, he added, have achieved a balance in the inventory.

By 2025, they are focused on implementing “a predictive planning system” to adjust your stock levels to demand and thereby prioritize high-turnover products and new technological trends, and increase the integration of online and physical inventories to improve availability across all channels.

Finally, the challenges for next year are maintaining competitiveness in a changing economic environment, efficiently manage logistics and imports in a context of currency shortage, and continue strengthening the brand’s presence in Bolivia.

Regarding its perspectives, it seeks to expand the offer of products with innovative and sustainable brands, in addition to “consolidating our position as a leading retailer in Bolivia, being the main ally of Bolivian families and local businesses with accessible financing.”

The economist and analyst Jaime Dunn considered that the 2025 management will be “challenging” for mass consumption companies in Bolivia due to the lack of dollars, which will continue to be a central problem, in addition to the issue of inflation that will become complex.

He added that the informal market represents an important challenge for formal companies, because informal traders, by not having regulation, tend to be able to move more quickly in these crisis scenarios. “The other issue is the political uncertainty that is occurring, because the first thing that this erodes is consumer confidence that affects their purchasing decisions and this has an impact on the dynamism of the market.”

The economist Martin Montero He also believes that the biggest challenge for 2025 will be the shortage of foreign currency and therefore, he added, You have to take advantage of some alternatives such as Usdt (digital currency that works like a ‘stablecoin’) with which it can be triangulated to carry out imports.