Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas

Carlos Sultan is a hard man to pin down these days. His only time for an interview is sandwiched between bank meetings, document signings, VIP guests and a procession of phone calls. But the flurry of activity is understandable--Sultan is on the brink of taking Venezuela's most successful retail business, Grupo Sultan, global. "Venezuela is a challenging market," says the energetic CEO, springing from his chair to head for another meeting. "If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere."

With US$500 million in annual sales, Grupo Sultan ranks as one of Venezuela's top ten private companies. It reached that spot during the last decade through a combination of innovative strategies in marketing, advertising and product supply that has turned its retail chain Graffiti into a household name across Venezuela.

Carlos Sultan and his brother Simon, each of whom owns half the company, have managed to pack stores with customers even during downturns in the oil country's roiling boom-and-bust economy. Though the government classifies 80 percent of Venezuela's 24 million population as poor, with little or no disposable income, Graffiti has gone from a single store nine years ago to 360 stores today. "They're brilliant businessmen," says Robert Bottome, director of the VenEconomy consultancy in Caracas. "They've done several things that others in Venezuela weren't able to do." Such as import fashionable clothing and household items at low prices, and reinvent their business as the political and economic environment has changed over the years.