ExpoPostos & Conveniência 2022: A promising future for Brazil’s fuel retailers
After a three year brake due to the pandemic, the most important event for the fuel retail and convenience store industry in Brazil took place in São Paulo. PetrolPlaza travelled to Brazil and got a look at the latest innovations and products presented by retailers, suppliers and manufacturers in the biggest market in Latin America.
ExpoPostos & Conveniência celebrated the 15th edition of its International Service Station, Equipment, Convenience Store and Food Service Fair and Forum in Brazil. On July 26 – 28 over 24,000 professionals were present at the São Paulo Expo convention centre to share ideas and innovations about the largest fuel retail market in South America.
The biennial event had to wait an unprecedented three-year period to celebrate a new edition for the expo. Exhibitors were thrilled to be back in person after the long wait with many saying the event exceeded their expectations.
“Not having trade shows like Expopostos or UNITI expo was tough for us because those are moments where we are face to face with our customers and partners. It was tough not being able to just talk; through Skype or Microsoft Teams is not the same. Fortunately everything is coming back, hopefully everything now will go back to normal and we will be able to participate again in these shows,” commented Marcelo Caio, Planning & New Businesses Manager of Zeppini.
Brazil’s footprint in the fuel retail industry worldwide
Opportunities are just around the corner in a market as big as Brazil’s, which includes more than half of Latin America’s service stations. Throughout its 20-year history, Expopostos has served as a platform for local and international companies to expand their business with an improved network, and increase their knowledge through presentations.
“More than 50% of Dover Fueling Solutions’ turnover for Latin America historically comes from the Brazilian market and we export around 20% of our production here to Latin America and the rest for emerging markets. The opportunities we see here are to continue growing with telemetering solutions, be leaders in everything that has to do with self-service payment and to continue innovating with pump technology,” stated Daniel Tobal, Sales Director for Latin America at Dover Fueling Solutions.
"This is the first year we are at Expopostos, and it’s important for PDI because this is the first event in which we participate in the region. Being our first real foray into the scene, growth is really the main focus of the company. In the next three to four years we expect international growth with a major impact for Latin America," added Luis De Montes, VP of Sales Latin America at PDI.
Visitors who toured around the halls of São Paulo Expo were able to see a snapshot of the current state of the Brazilian service station market – new pump systems that favour integration and equipment that is line with new regulatory measures. Technology continues to be the main focus of companies seeking meet customer expectations and new environmental regulations.
“We are expanding a lot in management software, we have various management companies that are creating cloud services that are open to several applications for suppliers, manage information for customers and consumption integrating shops and fuel. Parallel to this, in the area of large petrol pump companies we are currently facing a vapour recovery issue, most manufacturers are presenting solutions for adapting all installations to the vapour recovery obligation that will occur in the coming years,” explained Mauricio Prado Alves, President of ABIEPS, one of the organisations responsible for the event alongside FECOMBUSTÍVEIS.
According to the ordinances 1.109/206 and 509 published by the Secretaria do Trabalho and Inmetro, all gasoline pumps will have to avoid the emission of benzene in the environment, a common challenge in other countries of the region. Self-service is one of the trends that continues to grow but still meets difficulties due to regulations. Even the biggest players suffer from these setbacks – that’s where partnerships with technology suppliers become essential.
Opportunities for a bright future in the Latin American market
The pandemic forced many retailers in Latin America to reinvent themselves as they tried to deal with low fuel margins, mainly due to the tax systems. With stores playing a bigger role in the business, companies are looking to reduce the fuelling space in favour of fewer and faster pumps. Expopostos showcased this trend with plenty of products focusing on service integration and more efficient services.
“We entered the market 15 years ago with a totally new and different concept for Latin America. Our products are designed with durability and quality in mind and that concept is completely new for Latin America, where they are considered as consumables. Changing this has been very difficult in this region, where the initial purchase price is more important than the total cost of the product during its useful life,” explained Frank De Poli, Regional Director of ELAFLEX Latin America.
On the other hand, setbacks and delays linked to new regulatory measures and a lack of technology or financing tend to get repeated across the South American continent. In comparison to Europe or the United States, concepts such as self-checkout or frictionless experiences for stores are common to have their implementation delayed due to regulations.
“The big difference between Europe and Latin America is very much related to regulatory issues. Europe is much more advanced in terms of regulations because it started early, we are slowly starting in different areas. On the other hand, we have a lot of creativity, we don't have the same money that the Europeans have, but we make leaps in what Europe does step by step,” described Bruno Rosas, President of Gilbarco Veeder-Root Latin America.
There’s still much room for the market to grow, but the industry has shown confidence in the deployment of new models and technologies driven by the advances of other regions. Expopostos has proved to be an event in service of this goal, achieving a strong comeback after a difficult time and showing its attendees what the future of the industry in Brazil and other countries of the region can look like.
