On March 18 th and 17 th, we participated in the Regional Chains Forum, 2022 edition, in the city of Mar del Plata. Seven hundred entrepreneurs from the supply and supermarket industry attended this interesting business convention organized by Trade Media.
The event created a rich environment for debate and discussion for all Regional Chains in Argentina and other Latin American countries; we discussed how to keep growing and developing our businesses in a sustainable manner. Moreover, we consolidated a commercial platform between the industry and distribution chains seeking to strengthen our commercialization channels.
Economist Carlos Melconian opened the event with his analysis of the current economic situation in Argentina. Then, we enjoyed a presentation about the Plant based market and its food innovation given by Latuyage, Country Manager of NotCo Argentina.
After that, the General Manager of GS1 Argentina, Alejandro Rodríguez, told us about The 2D bar code revolution, a new dimension of the bar code aiming at digitalizing the information within the retail industry.
In turn, Fernando Marchiano, Business Manager of BMO Latam, presented the keys of the new Trade Marketing, a consequence of the pandemic, and the change the pandemic brought about in the ways products for massive consumption are purchased. He emphasized that, nowadays, customers spend less and less time in physical stores; that is why displaying products to make the purchasing process easier has become essential. In addition, he highlighted the importance of offering several payment methods and virtual wallets, in order to make the purchasing process easier.
Maximiliano Narducci continued with the post-pandemic analysis, and discussed consumption. He explained that each consumer leans towards different strategies: family packs, convenience formats or lower out of pocket expenses, depending on the occasion, always aiming at maximizing savings possibilities.
Andrés Riveros and Ezequiel González Tizón, Managing Partners at Tizeros, gave the conference “The pandemic: What was left behind, what could be done, what should be done”, where they suggested that in order to achieve new goals, it is necessary to rethink the current structure. Nowadays, it is even necessary to modernize many aspects of the commercial environment.
E-commerce keys were explained by Lucas Palazzo, from iFlow S.A., who also highlighted the current digitalization of businesses and the need for all companies to update themselves in order to adapt to virtual channels.
The convention also provided a regional perspective, with supermarket executives located in different parts of the country that explained the current situation of their companies and discussed their plans for the future.
At Inalpa, we appreciate the invitation to this important event and congratulate all the companies that are committed to national production, innovation, and technology.