As I discussed in my last post, I have spent the better part of Q2 and Q3 visiting the emerging regions of China, Russia, South Asia, the United Arab Emirates, and most recently Sao Paulo, Brazil. If I had to summarize my trip to Sao Paulo in one word, it would simply be, “wow.”

Save the country’s hideous (and I do mean awful) traffic, I was really impressed by a number of developments –the fast moving/changing nature of the PC market, the entire country’s love of soccer (or football as they call it) and the passion of our regional marketing team.

Let’s first start with the traffic. I believe the international airport is roughly 25km from where the AMD office is located. On a good day, the trip takes about an hour. However, the average is two – three hours during rush hour, which is most times of day, and our driver told us that it once took him six hours during a rainstorm. That is serious traffic. New Yorkers take note!

Second, I’d like to clarify that identifying Brazil as an emerging market is accurate – for computers and personal electronics. The retailers are getting more and more sophisticated with their store formats, their SKU assortments, and their merchandising methods and tools. I was impressed at the knowledge and friendliness of the sales staff in nearly every retailer we visited.

The other interesting element of the market is the advent of OEM-owned stores such as this retail store from HP (see photo). OEMs are increasingly opening stores to show off their product lineup and control the experience of the buyer. We see similar approaches in China (e.g. Lenovo) and across many of the other emerging geographies.

Outside HP's Sao Paulo retail store with Tony Fernandez-Stoll

But perhaps the most interesting thing to note was the passion that the Brazilian people have for their football. They are still smarting from their too-early exit from this year’s World Cup, but already training for the next one in four years from now! Nearly every TV has a game on at all times, or the re-run of a famous match from recent history. Our regional AMD team leveraged the passion our partners have for the sport by supporting a channel sales contest where we sent some 30 customers to the World Cup for hitting aggressive sales targets. Both the customers and our folks who attended the World Cup said that it was an event they would never forget. Bonds were strengthened, and the gauntlet was thrown down for the next AMD Fusion Partner Program event which would, of course, feature more football tickets.

I can’t wait for my next visit, likely in the latter part of the year. The market moves so fast, and by working closely with partners and evolving our program, the progress in our retail, commercial and component channels is extremely inspiring.

And yes, for those wondering, I returned to the Sao Paulo airport in the pouring rain, and the traffic did not disappoint.

David Kenyon is VP of WW Channel Marketing for AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.