PIMM Forbes

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A D V E R T I S I N G F E A T U R E

PIMMMeeting the Demand, Facilitating Trade

Panama, site of the famous canal that joined two oceans and created

a new chapter in world commerce, is perfectly situated at the

crossroads of Latin America, a 566-million-strong, rapidly growing

market for the latest in manufactured goods from around the world.

For more information on leasing or buying exhibition space,please e-mail [email protected] or call 011 507 391 05 05.

resently, Latin American and Caribbean buyers wishing

to avoid the complexities of overseas buying trips highcosts, visa restrictions, security delays and plain old travel

fatigue can place orders with manufacturers in the Colon

Free Trade Zone, which was established by the Panama gov-

ernment in 1954. The 3,000 companies operating in the

Zone generated 2006 trade revenues of more than $14 bil-

lion (up 18% from the previous year), making it the second-

largest free trade zone in the world.

Unfortunately, the Zone is at maximum capacity: Despite

the high demand, there are no more exhibition showrooms

available. In fact, there are 2,500 companies on a waiting list.

PIMM ANSWERS THE CALL

So how can the many manufacturers, exporters, whole-

salers, distributors and sales agents from around the world

access the burgeoning Latin American and Caribbean mar-

ket? Set up a permanent presence in the region to establish

ongoing relationships with buyers? Have access to the taxadvantages of a free-trade zone as well as to a host of expert

trade-related services and support?

The answer is the Panama International Merchandise Mart

(PIMM), S.A., the first international wholesale merchandise

mart in Latin America. Currently under construction on

1,300 acres of land near the Colon Free Trade Zone, PIMM,

at more than double the size, offers a whole lot more.

When completed, PIMM will feature thirty-two 25,000-

square-meter buildings with 6,800 exhibition showrooms,

ten apartment buildings, ten office buildings, four hotels anda convention center. It will be the largest merchandise mart

in the world.

Located in the Colon Province, PIMM is a tax-exempt

operation:There are no import duties, sales tax or taxes on

profits for companies doing business here.

FOREIGN TRADING MADE EASY

PIMM offers the best-possible environment for buying and

selling global goods. In addition to having numerous on-site

and tax advantages, it sits right at the hub of the Americas.

(Just one look at Panama on a map is enough to see it is a

prime trading location.) Getting to and from the country iseasy, with more than 80 daily direct flights to America,

Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Spanish, the

national language, is spoken by the vast majority of Latin

American buyers, and with the U.S. dollar as currency, trans-

actions are relatively uncomplicated.

With so many advantages, its no wonderPIMM is gener-

ating enthusiastic responses from the marketplace: To date,

100% of first-phase construction has already been sold six

months ahead of schedule!

Reaching 566 million active

Latin American consumers

just got a whole lot easier.

P
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For more information on leasing or buying exhibition space, please e-mail [email protected] or call+507 391 0505.

irst-phase plans for the Panama International Merchandise

Mart (PIMM) call for the construction of 800 exhibition

showrooms by 2009.To date, 100% of them have been sold

six months ahead of schedule.When the entire complex is

completed in 2012, PIMM will be the largest duty-free and

tax-free wholesale marketplace in Latin America, facilitating

trade between thousands of manufacturers from around theglobe and wholesale buyers for the 566 million consumers in

South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

INDOOR WHOLESALE UNIVERSE FACILITATES TRADEUnlike the warehouse and distribution centers of the nearby

Colon Free Trade Zone in the Colon Province of Panama,

PIMM is a sophisticated merchandising complex where buyers

meet sellers to experience first-hand the quality of their manu-

factured goods. Relationships are made, orders are placed,

explains Founder and CEO Reynald H.Katz,and just a phone

call from a seller sends merchandise directly from its plant of

origin to anywhere in the world.He explains,We will host merchandise shows, trade events

and other high-profile activities throughout the year to help

increase transaction volume for our international manufac-

turing partners. Buyers and wholesalers doing business here

will get the opportunity to see goods, trends and fashions six

months ahead of the market.

GETTING BUSINESSES UP AND RUNNING

PIMM will offer a complete array of services to help com-

panies enter the Latin market smoothly so they can start

exhibiting, meeting buyers and selling as quickly as possible.

A legal team can help incorporate companies in Panama,

obtain investor visas and even open bank accounts.Trade spe-

cialists can help sort out international regulations and

requirements. OtherPIMM professional services can help

with visas, trade financing, customs clearing, freight forward-ing and showroom setup. Representatives can also assist in

selecting apartments, offices and schools for children and

advise on how best to buy or lease a car.

Everything at PIMM is designed for companies to succeed

in the Latin American marketplace. Whats in our cus-

tomers best interest is in our best interest, sums up Katz.If

they succeed, we succeed. And with PIMMs outstanding

facilities and services, no doubt they all will.

F

A U.S., Asian or European manufacturer wants to export

a product to the Latin American market, but has no

physical presence or representation in the region. The

manufacturer contacts PIMM to buy a permanent show-

room and immediately arranges on-site living accommo-

dations, while a PIMM representative assists the manu-

facturer with a more permanent housing solution. Once

established in the new showroom, the manufacturer

exhibits and sells to the Latin America importers, whole-

salers and buyers coming to purchase from the vast

array of manufacturers located at PIMM.

HOW IT WORKS

PIMM will be built in four phases, the last of which will be

completed in 2012. Phase I is already 100% sold to

manufacturers from Asia (60%), Europe (20%) and

America (20%). To meet this record-setting demand,

PIMM decided to accelerate Phase II by adding 1,600

showrooms immediately so that a total of 2,400 show-

rooms will be available in 2009.

MEETING DEMAND & ACCELERATING THE PACEPIMMEnthusiastic Response Accelerates Construction

Construction plans a year ahead of

schedule are almost unheard of. But

then again, PIMM exceeds expectations.
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ince news of the Panama International Merchandise

Mart (PIMM) hit the international business community,

the project has generated a lot of attention from man-

ufacturers interested in buying showrooms to companies

wishing to establish strategic partnerships to investors

looking for a good place to put their money. And with

good reason: PIMM is unprecedented in its size, scope andability to offer a unique, cost-effective and highly convenient

transaction environment.

Thousands of manufacturers under one roof will attract buy-

ers and distributors from all over South America, Central

America and the Caribbean customers whose foreign buy-

ing trips have been curbed by a variety of travel impediments.

PIMM is a win-win concept:suppliers reach a vast audience for

their manufactured goods from just one showroom in one loca-

tion; buyers have access to literally a world of goods on

one trip to a country that shares their language and customs.

THE MAN WITH THE VISIONWhat kind of person

spearheads the building of a

$750 million, 22-million-

square-foot wholesale trad-

ing complex, the largest of

its kind in the world? A born

entrepreneur and trade spe-

cialist like Founder and

CEO Reynald Henry Katz.

All his life Katz has been

selling something and

doing so successfully. As ateenager he sold handmade

jewelry, earning the stagger-

ing sum of $100,000. At 19

he used that money to start

a cosmetics company, which he and his partner sold four

years later for $8 million.Since then he has owned and oper-

ated a variety of successful cosmetics, perfume and liquor

manufacturers around the world.

In the late 1990s Katz served as senior adviser for the

Chinese Ministry of Internal Trade. A U.S. citizen, he was

one of the first foreigners to serve in this position. While

there, he was the architect for the high-end sourcing and

retailing operations in the 14 largest cities in China, and

spearheaded the development of 128 department stores

(each of which occupied 1 million square feet) and employ-ing more than 240,000 employees.

With his unique trade experience, manufacturing and

marketing history and passion for the merchandise-mart

concept, Katz is uniquely qualified to make his Latin

American trading operation an unparalleled success.

EXPANSION PLANS

Latin America is not the only location in PIMMsfuture. Over the next five to ten years, Katz plans to

expand the concept, opening similar marts in Russia, the

Middle East, China, India, Europe and South America.

The proliferation of television, movies and the Internet

around the world is fostering a continual demand for the

latest and greatest products, says Katz. Even in the

most unlikely places. And PIMM intends to facilitate

much of that demand.


For more information on leasing or buying exhibition space, or to explore investment opportunities,please e-mail [email protected] or call +507 391 0505.

The concept, the location and the man

at the helm make for a compelling

investment opportunity.

SPIMMBacked by Worlds of Experience

Bernardo GomezVice President, Finance

Miguel DefreitasVice President, Operations

Reynald Henry KatzFounder and CEO
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