Geomarketing is always associated with the latest technological trends, such as the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data.

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Oddly enough, its existence is more related to the supermarket sector than you might think.

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Few people know, but among the main reasons for so much information about the population being made available by public bodies such as the IBGE, is the improvement in access to food and basic items.

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Every population concentration, however small, depends on a supply store, however, the lack of information about the real demand of these populations can lead to the absence of markets or create uncompetitive situations, in which a single store can explore higher prices.

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If we can count on such a wealth of information collected in Censuses and other IBGE surveys, it is the government's clear intention to stimulate competition and direct more purchase options to the entire population.

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Despite this effort, few supermarket chains effectively use this information to direct the opening of new stores or even the assortment and pricing policy of existing stores.

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For those who know how to work with this information, Geomarketing offers an advantage similar to that saying:

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In the land of the blind, those with one eye are king

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The best example of this lesson is the accelerated expansion of the Sugarloaf network in the 1990s at the hands of businessman Abilio Diniz.

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He pioneered many fronts, including conducting a Geomarketing study to assess points for new stores or the acquisition of existing stores.

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By offering a fixed payment of 1.5% of the gross sales that had been made by a store, he had strong arguments to close the deal.

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On the other side of the table, those who sold thought, “Wow, receiving 1.5% without operational risk seems great to me”

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Notice that this was a rational margin, for one the margin was tight, while the other believed that he would be able to increase them to such an extent that he was willing to guarantee a share.

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How did Abilio Diniz know that he could make more money and profit to the point of offering this guaranteed return?

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Its strategy was based on Geomarketing analyses carried out in partnership with a great specialist of the time, Carlos Alberto China, from the consultancy firm China Geomarketing.

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Both evaluated two aspects present in the Mapfry methodology, derived from the Central Place Theory, formulated by Walter Christaller in 1933.

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First they observed the threshold, if the region served by the supermarket was above the minimum number of families for the strategy to work.

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To know this, they had access to Census information on maps and counted by other means. This was a job for the consultancy firm China Geomarketing.

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Then, they evaluated the range, up to what distance the location of the supermarket allowed it to be relevant.

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Today it is more common than the analyses of range are called the Area of Influence.

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Together, they built a growth strategy that prioritized areas with high consumption potential, well above threshold, where there was plenty of demand.

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It is important to remember that the 1990s marked a turning point in household consumption patterns, which came from successive crises and high inflation in the 1980s.

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As a result of this more difficult phase, supermarket retailers prioritized low cost, leaving the shopping experience in the background.

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Another reflection was the layout of the stores, with many cash positions to meet peak demand on payroll days, typically at the beginning of the month.

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Starting with the Real Plan, with the stability in inflation, such consumer behaviors changed a lot and families were able to direct their purchases with other criteria, such as experimentation, valuation of premium brands, and more frequent purchases.

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This portrait was clear in the Geomarketing analyses, which pointed out the profiles of families, with higher incomes and fewer people, precisely a combination that allowed more per capita consumption.

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This privileged perspective allowed Abilio Diniz to have high confidence that it would be possible to make more money and profit, provided that it was more adaptable to the new consumption pattern of families in those places.

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Thus, he was able to lease, that is, transfer the operations of various networks to himself without a large outlay.

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It also acquired entire networks such as Sendas, Assaí, ABC and embarked on appliances and electronics with the Ponto Frio networks and the acquisition of Casas Bahia.

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He died on February 18, 2024, having built a retail empire.

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