Being present on a digital channel is not the same as controlling it.

Most brands get it confused.

And that confusion has a real cost.

Your brand appears on Amazon. On Mercado Libre. On Google Shopping.

But the question few organizations honestly ask themselves is this:

Who really controls how your brand exists on those channels?

Presence and control are not the same thing.

Confusing them is one of the most costly mistakes a digital organization can make today.

This is exactly the topic we are going to discuss at our next LATAM Executive Roundtable. If you manage digital channels, distribution, or price control, keep reading — and consider joining the conversation.

* The session will be conducted in Spanish, with automatic translation available throughout.

The problem no one sees until it's too late

eCommerce in Latin America continues to grow at an unprecedented pace.

Mercado Libre alone closed 2025 with 39% growth in net revenues — processing more than 83 million unique buyers in a single quarter, with a GMV of USD $19.9 billion in Q4'25.

The volume is massive.

And with that volume, something else is growing:

the commercial risk surface.

More channels. More sellers. More consumer touchpoints.

And less real visibility for brands into what is actually happening on each of them.

The gray market is not a new phenomenon. But its scale in LATAM is.

Globally, nearly 90% of companies have discovered their products being sold on unauthorized channels without their consent.

63% state that this activity has increased since 2018.

And in technology, it is estimated that more than $60 billion in products are traded annually through unauthorized channels.

This is not a marginal problem.

It is a structural problem — and in LATAM, it is amplified by multi-country parallel channels and the complexity of regional exchange rates.

What is actually happening in your distribution network

When an unauthorized seller appears on a marketplace with your products, the damage is not just reputational.

It is operational. It is financial. It is strategic.

Here is what happens in practice:

Your marketing investment generates demand. But unauthorized sellers capture that demand. Your acquisition costs rise. The return does not flow back into your official channel.

Your authorized distributors see lower prices from unaccredited competitors. They reduce their investment. They prioritize other brands. The relationship deteriorates—long before the problem shows up in any official report.

Your eCommerce team detects symptoms. A drop in conversion. Loss of the Featured Listing on Mercado Libre. Loss of the Buy Box on Amazon. Less visibility in the region's key channels.

But without visibility into the root of the problem, decisions are made with incomplete data.

And decisions made with incomplete data are rarely the right ones.

Sound familiar? In the LATAM Executive Roundtable, we will share real case studies and concrete strategies to break this cycle. Reserve your spot here →

The data confirming the scale of the problem

At Smart Protection, we monitor more than 8 million listings across major marketplaces and social networks.

We process over 12,000 daily infractions.

We have blocked more than 80 million threats to date.

And we have reduced our clients' digital risk exposure by up to 80%.

But beyond the numbers, what this data reveals is something even more important:

The volume of threats is systematic.

These are not isolated incidents. They are signs of a much deeper control issue.

40% of the threats we detect are identified before they spread.

That means the difference between detecting them early and detecting them late is not just operational.

It is the difference between protecting your margins or losing them silently.

Want to understand what this means for your organization? Join our LATAM Executive Roundtable. Request your spot here →

The question few organizations are willing to ask themselves

Your brand may be on every marketplace.

But if you do not know who is selling your products, where, at what price, and under what conditions, you are not controlling your digital distribution.

You are just observing it.

And there is a fundamental difference between observing a channel and controlling it.

Organizations that understand this difference make smarter commercial decisions, better protect their margins, and preserve the trust of their distributors and consumers.

The consumer does not distinguish between an authorized and an unauthorized seller.

They only distinguish between a satisfying buying experience and one that is not.

And when the experience fails, it is the brand's commercial integrity that pays the price.

The question is not whether this problem exists in your organization.

The question is how much real visibility you actually have over it.

LATAM Executive Roundtable — Who controls your brand's price?

We want to discuss this topic in depth with professionals who live it from the inside.

Thursday, August 6 MX 09:00 · CO 10:00 · CL 12:00 · AR 12:00 · ES 17:00

The conversation will be open, strategic, and focused on sharing practical approaches—not a sales pitch.

If you manage digital distribution, price control, or eCommerce channels for your organization, this is the place you want to be.

Moderator: Javier Capilla González — CEO and Founder, Smart Protection · Spain

Speakers:

Tomás Blousson — Head of Digital Channels and CX, Hudson Kitchenware · Argentina

Luis E. Lecaros — Commercial and Marketing Manager, All Nutrition · Chile

Paula Ponce — Brand Protection Lead, Blue Wheel · Mexico

Reserve your spot - Limited Space →

* The session will be conducted in Spanish, with automatic translation available throughout.

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