Sir, I refer to the editorial "At the checkout" (June 17th) in which it is mentioned that the Superquinn group started Europe's first loyalty scheme five years ago, a scheme since copied "as far away as Brazil".
May I, as a Brazilian consumer, here and in "far away countries", straighten the record on this matter and inform your readers that Brazilian retailing chains such as Mesbla and Mappin have been using loyalty schemes since the middle of the 1980s.
Let me recall, for your readers' information, that Brazil is an economy with a GDP of $781 billion (eighth in the world ranking) undergoing an extensive programme of privatisation and structural reform, which has developed along the years state-of-the-art technological breakthroughs in areas as varied as marine oil exploration and banking software. - Yours etc.
Ambassador of Brazil, Dublin 2.