Brazilian cosmetics firm Oceanic equipped the majority of its franchisees with Fiat Doblo minivans, which are both delivery vehicles and shops.
What are you to do if you’re a cosmetics company trying to sell your wares to tens of millions of female customers, in a country the size of a decent continent, with competitors like Avon and ‘O Boticário’ boasting numerous storefronts and tens of thousands of door-to-door salespeople?
Brazilian cosmetics firm Oceanic, which has been in business since 1996, and didn’t have the funds to build a nationwide bricks and mortar presence, decided to go mobile: it equipped the majority of its franchisees with Fiat Doblo minivans, which are both delivery vehicles AND shops. Developed in coordination with Cherto, a Brazilian distribution stratey group, the mobile stores make it easy to target prime consumer locations such as universities, schools, hospitals, parks, and trade shows. Not to mention customization: the mobile store’s inventory can be customized for different locations (i.e. if a franchisee parks near a beach, he or she’d better stock up on sunscreen and suntan lotions!).
Oceanic’s minivans also give small entrepreneurs a chance to get started without ponying up massive starting fees: the investment is about 10,900 Real for the vehicle and 5,500 Real for initial store products (1 Real equals roughly EUR 0.31 or USD 0.35). Franchisees are promised a 4-12 month return on investment and 100% gross margins.
Oceanic currently has 150 full time employees working from a 7,500 m2 plant and warehouse, which produces 175 different cosmetics products, from perfumes and body lotions to aroma therapy kits. The company hopes to achieve 2,000 mobile stores by 2008.