The news that, six years after its initial entry into Brazil, Amazon was increasing operations in the country, will have chilled its local competitors. But the challenges in Brazil are many and it appears that Amazon may not steamroller all before it as the e-commerce giant has done elsewhere.
Whereas the US, Amazon’s home market, and other countries in which it has claimed the top spot, enjoy a level of development that reflects their economic output, Brazil is different. With a largely working-class population, a succession of left-of-centre governments, and drastically varying levels of infrastructure development, observers believe...