Amazon launches Prime service in challenging Brazil market

Amazon.com Inc said it will launch its Prime subscription service in Brazil on Tuesday as it seeks to broaden its footprint in Latin America's largest economy, where it has struggled against tough local competition.

In a bid to dislodge established local e-commerce rivals including Magazine Luiza and Mercado Livre, Amazon is offering Prime subscribers unlimited nationwide free shipping and maximum 48-hour delivery time in over 90 municipalities for goods ranging from clothes to electronics.

Subscribers will also have access to movies, music, and digital books and magazines on the Prime platform, as Amazon looks to compete with online streaming services like Netflix.

The Prime launch represents Amazon's boldest move in Brazil, where it launched in 2012 as a bookseller before adding other products to the platform.

It has struggled to make inroads against the incumbents, with analysts flagging logistical, tax issues among the challenges the US giant has had to overcome before launching more products and services.

"We went as fast as possible and as slowly as necessary," Jamil Ghani, Amazon Prime International Vice President, told Reuters.

The Brazilian Prime package will cost 9.90 reais ($2.42) a month, or 89.00 reais a year.