Ticketing group CTS Eventim is planning its "first expansion outside Europe by launching operations in Brazil next year, on the back of its contract to manage ticket sales for the Rio Olympics," according to Jeevan Vasagar of the FINANCIAL TIMES. CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg said that the German company, which also handled tickets for the Sochi Olympics, will use next summer's games as a "bridgehead into Latin America." He said he was "upbeat" on prospects for "branching into other event sales in Latin America." Schulenberg: "Brazil is a big market. Household incomes are rising, and the Latin American market has a very highly developed musical culture." Schulenberg explained that CTS Eventim's Olympic ticketing contract will be used as an opportunity to "adapt the company's software for the wider Brazilian market." He said, "[We'll be] installing the Portuguese language, introducing the necessary payment methods." Initially, the investment in Brazil will be limited, with only about "10-20 people" handling operations on the ground. Ticket sales technology will continue to be operated from Germany. Analysts said that int'l expansion was a "logical step for the company, as it had already exploited most of the gains to be made from the shift from physical to online ticketing." Warburg Research analyst Jochen Reichert said that shifting customers from physical sales to online had "already made a dramatic difference to Eventim's revenues." Reichert: "At stationary ticket outlets, Eventim made €1 [revenue] per ticket. Online, it began by taking €6 ($6.60), and that's gone up to €8($8.80)-€8.50 ($9.35) per internet ticket." CTS Eventim is also seeking to boost its revenues by offering "additional services to customers -- for example, by using customer profile data to suggest alternatives to sold out events" (FT, 3/5).
