If I didn't already have personal experience of supermarket chain Pao de Acucar and its shocking prices, I would have read this profile piece in the FT and not winced each time it referred to the company's founder as some kind of consumer champion. Brazil is a country with no consumer champions* ! Why do these articles on Brazil keep glossing over that fact ? Is it because when it comes to juicy emerging markets, FT readers make little distinction between profits and profiteering ?
The WSJ is slightly more in touch with reality in it's article on the latest Pao de Acucar corporate shenanigans. It notes that the involvement of Brazil's Government in creating so-called national champion companies that can help Brazil compete on the world stage has in fact simply aided the creation of a small group of billionaires at the expense of Brazilian consumers. No surprises there.
As I've said before, the only thing the Brazilian government should be doing is creating a level playing field; keeping it level by close and continuous regulation; and allowing the best retailers to flourish. Consumers will be the ones who decide which is best, based on vigorous and relentless competition, not on the least worst option.
* OK, maybe a few online companies, like Urban Fish.
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