For more than 40 years, I have been involved in metalworking and textiles, so I have a pretty good handle on quality in both those fields.
Argentina has a long history of quality manufacturing in many metalworking areas- most are not "consumer" goods, so you may not see them. But its a steady manufacturer of agricultural equipment, and exports it as well- tractor accesories, seeders, sprayers, and other smaller scale implements for farming.
Its a manufacturer of high quality industrial food processing equipment- you will see, of course, espresso machines and pasta making machines everywhere, all locally made. But it also makes all kinds of other food processing equipment, from ovens to dough mixing machines to food freezing and packaging machinery.
SIAM, which went on to become a manufacturer of everything from autos to fridges, got its start with dough making machines for bakeries, and, of course, helado making mixers that old school heladerias use.
Up in Santa Fe province, they make a lot of electric motors, transformers, and electrical switchgear.
Cordoba has long had forging shops for industrial products, as well as toolmakers- There are good quality argentine drill presses, vices, and other shop tools.
Good quality drop forged wrenches and hand tools, nice hammers, and a lot of cutting and carving tools- chisels, jewelry tools, and other small metal hand tools. Usually available at more industrial hardware stores, but always more expensive than the cheap chinese imports. In Once, the stores that sell jewelry making tools have nice smaller locally made hand tools.
Very nice hand made brushes- Argentina has traditionally had a pretty large cleaning supply manufacturing base, and cheap chinese polyester has not eradicated trapos de rejillos.
There is a great brush store, El Rey De Cepillos, on Marcelo T Alvear in Retiro- it used to be much bigger, on Callao, but the range of locally made brushes for sale there is incredible- for hair, cleaning, clothes, shaving- many from exotic or unusual natural fibers. You would be hard pressed to find a selection like this in Paris or NYC, and certainly not for the prices.
Obviously, shoemaking and textiles are huge industries, and, if you have the ability to select for quality, there is great stuff available.
If you judge everything by mass produced Walmart prices for slave labor produced Bangladeshi clothing, you will think the prices are "high", but 100% cottton argentine made t shirts and socks and underwear are priced well below "designer" made in China stuff in the USA- if you buy in bulk, in Once, with usually fifty dollar or less minimums, you get quite good quality. I stock up on mens undergarments every few years, and find they last hundreds of washings, at very reasonable prices. Fifty bucks will buy me twice as much as I get at Fred Meyer or similar chain stores in the US.
I work in a metal shop and on a farm for much of the year. I wear Pampero and Ombu Argentine made work clothes. 1/3 to 1/2 the prices of made in Bangladesh or Mexico work clothes they sell in the USA, but better fabrics- I like the 100% cotton camisas and bombachas, myself. Bulletproof stuff, and I can destroy work clothes, welding, machining, and forging.
Leather, obvio.
Shoes and boots- again, dont compare to mass produced chinese, compare to made in Europe or made in USA all leather shoes, and you find quality is equal or better, and prices are far lower. I like Correa and Aqua Patagonia, for mens shoes.
Textile products- especially natural fibers- are a deal, and great prices- there is a significant string, rope and yarn industry, (I have been sewing, embroidering, and crocheting since the 60s) I buy local cotton or wool or linen or jute strings and yarns for a fraction of US yarn store prices.
Scalabrini Ortiz, South of Cordoba, has a half dozen stores with incredible selection.
Yardage is similar- skip cheap chinese poly, look or Argentine cottons and wools, and there are good things to be found.
Cookware- there are several brands of quite good, reasonably priced chef's knives. I think Arbolito is the best- a 100% Argentine made subsidiary of an excellent German knife company- and, compared to USA "gourmet" store prices, a bargain. A 5" (12.5cm) Arbolito is 1200 pesos retail- at Blue, thats ten bucks more or less- an equivalent Wustoff, discounted on Amazon, in the USA, is over fifty dollars.
Darto steel pans are great, look good, and indestructible.
Argentina still makes "cowboy coffeepot" style porcelean enamale plates cups and bowls, cookware, and also stainless, glass, and ceramic flatware, glasses, and plates, and there are very well made versions ranging from basic to elegant. Skip the injection molded chinese discount products, and you find simple quality.
In all of these cases, it takes work to find the good stuff, just like it does in Paris or London or LA or NYC.
But its out there, and if you learn what makes a quality fork, or tank top, or leather shoe, you can find quite high quality product.
What you WONT find is ultra cheap mass produced electronic consumer goods.
Because of tariff and economic policy, but also because, for instance, there is ONE factory globally that makes a glass good enough for an Iphone screen, and Apple buys their entire production. Nobody is going to build $2 billion dollar factories in Argentina when the entire world supply is being made by existing, paid for, factories in China or Korea. So, no, you will never see an LG type smart fridge at FraVega for a thousand dollars.
Stick to traditional argentine manufacturing- textiles, clothing, light machinery, kitchen products, shoes, purses, luggage, furniture, lighting, etc, and there are many small companies making good stuff.
