Argentines bought a fifth less at food and drink stores in December

[Jerry Nelson]

Argentines bought a fifth less at food and drink stores in December, report finds - Buenos Aires Herald

Retail sales were down by nearly 14% year-on-year, with pronounced drops for basics such as pharmacy products and gasoline

buenosairesherald.com

 

[Wayne Tompkins]

The Chinese grocery near my apartment has a lot less traffic than a couple months ago. I walked in there last Saturday evening and I was the only customer in the store. The only company I had was the cashier and the resident store cat.

 

[wrangler]

The Chinese grocery near my apartment has a lot less traffic than a couple months ago. I walked in there last Saturday evening and I was the only customer in the store. The only company I had was the cashier and the resident store cat.

The Chinese grocer by my house, has told me that things have gotten really difficult. Business is not good, and that at the end of this month, they are closing down. He said it's no longer a viable business when you factor in the rent increases.

 

[lunar]

I noticed that the people selling extremely cheap fruits on the street have completely disappeared since the beginning of this week. It seemed like an organized operation, with centralized delivery involving the same people and stacks of boxes at almost every block. I guess their business is no longer profitable.

 

[Ange]

It costs zero to any business owner/employees to improve customer service to attract customers. And there is margin for improvement in customer service in our beloved Argentina.
Also every second shop around my place is closed for their usual Jan 3 weeks holidays atm. Except for the chinos, they are full despite higher prices. Because there’s nowhere else close to shop. Kind of logical

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

In a “free” economy everything tends towards larger and larger corporations does it not?
Economies of scale and all that shit.

How many independent supermarkets or convenience stores are there in Europe or the US?

I expect Argentina will follow suit and many small supermarkets will close down.
Along with the independent butcher, cobblers, fruit and veg shops, hardware shops, etc etc etc.

 

[mikic007]

In a “free” economy everything tends towards larger and larger corporations does it not?
Economies of scale and all that shit.

How many independent supermarkets or convenience stores are there in Europe or the US?

I expect Argentina will follow suit and many small supermarkets will close down.
Along with the independent butcher, cobblers, fruit and veg shops, hardware shops, etc etc etc.

It's a real life monopoly. Early stage is all fun, opportunity and prosperity, later stages are all suffering for most and hoarding for few, until one grabs it all.

Argentina is somewhere in the middle, corporations already control most of the market, except retail and services. It's inevitable all world will follow the model, if there won't be some major socioeconomic changes, that I really don't see coming any time soon.

 

[TWB103]

In a “free” economy everything tends towards larger and larger corporations does it not?
Economies of scale and all that shit.

How many independent supermarkets or convenience stores are there in Europe or the US?

I expect Argentina will follow suit and many small supermarkets will close down.
Along with the independent butcher, cobblers, fruit and veg shops, hardware shops, etc etc etc.

Those small independent neighborhood businesses are a nice idea but unfortunately belong to another era. One of the reasons Argentina is in the economic mess it is in is due these inefficient business models and practice. For Argentina to move forward economically these types of businesses will need to bite the dust sadly.

 

[FrankPintor]

Those small independent neighborhood businesses are a nice idea but unfortunately belong to another era. One of the reasons Argentina is in the economic mess it is in is due these inefficient business models and practice. For Argentina to move forward economically these types of businesses will need to bite the dust sadly.

You're probably right, though it's one of the things that make Argentina so livable, at least in the middle class areas of Buenos Aires you can get everything you need within a radius of 3 blocks or so. There will be a lot of idle Chinese and Bolivians in that scenario.



If Ireland is Milei's end destination (and here, we'll discretely gloss over the fact that Ireland has free education, free healthcare with a huge emphasis on children, and a robust social security system), then those independent neighborhood businesses will be replaced by Aldi and Lidl.

 

[Smurf]

You're probably right, though it's one of the things that make Argentina so livable, at least in the middle class areas of Buenos Aires you can get everything you need within a radius of 3 blocks or so. There will be a lot of idle Chinese and Bolivians in that scenario.

View attachment 9421

If Ireland is Milei's end destination (and here, we'll discretely gloss over the fact that Ireland has free education, free healthcare with a huge emphasis on children, and a robust social security system), then those independent neighborhood businesses will be replaced by Aldi and Lidl.