Amazon is looking to expand its burgeoning empire into Brazil

Amazon may finally be headed to Brazil. While the online retail giant may have a ubiquitous presence in the United States, that isn’t the case across the world — not yet, at least. That could soon change now that Amazon met with “an array of manufacturers” last week in Brazil to “discuss plans to stock and sell products from consumer electronics to perfume in the country,” Reuters reports. If these talks prove successful, Amazon would gain a foothold into what is the largest retail market in Latin America.

Currently, Amazon has a small footprint in the South American nation — in 2012, it began selling ebooks, and two years later, added physical books to its inventory. In October, Amazon began offering third-party sales of electronics. And over the course of the last five years, Amazon representatives claim that they have had “hundreds of meetings with potential vendors and suppliers about its business in Brazil and possible future plans.” Now, those meetings could be paying off.

In order to maintain as much control as possible over the entire sales channel, Amazon is said to be using its own transportation and call centers when it does move into Brazil. The company is increasingly looking to own every step of the shipment process — in the United States, Amazon is already testing its own delivery service, aptly titled “Shipping with Amazon,” which would compete directly with UPS and FedEx, which the retail giant currently uses to fulfill its orders.

As for how Amazon plans to attain inventory for its sales in Brazil, Reuter’s sources noted, “[Amazon representatives] said they were going to buy directly from the manufacturers and resell.” This could prove successful, as in the last four years alone, ecommerce sales have doubled in the nation. Experts project that this growth will continue at a double-digit pace year over year, which presents quite the opportunity for Amazon — today, online shopping accounts for about five percent of the country’s $300 billion retail market.

Brazil wouldn’t be the first country where Amazon is looking to establish a foothold. At the end of 2017, it expanded into Australia. Now, it’s looking to make its next move.