Computer bananas
Brazil is tipped to be one of the world's fastest growing computer markets for 1995, with projected computer and peripheral sales of US $6.9 billion, up from US $5.7 billion last year. Software sales are expected to reach US $550 million, up from US $418 million in 1994. The frenzy stretches across a snack bar owner in Sao Paulo to the gigantic General Motors de Brasil, which recently made a large investment.
Meanwhile, parents are squirrelling away money to provide their kids with the latest in computer training. Futurekids, an American chain of computer schools for children, has opened 145 branches across the country. Says Eckhard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq Computer Corp which opened its first Latin American plant near Sao Paulo in March, "We see as rapid a growth in Latin America as we had seen in Europe in our early years (mid-'80s), and certainly faster than the evolution of our Asian business."