Small Stores Vs Supermarkets - Deal Or No Deal?

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

The dairy products from the dairy monopolies are low quality and expensive. Go to the feria itinerante and buy something not produced by Sencosur, Serrinissima and whoever else.

A lump of flavourless white cheese in the supermarket can cost the same as a kilo of a good cut of beef.

 

[mimyr]

The key is to buy things at different places. For instance, Supermercado Dia is by far the cheapest, but for wine, the Chinos are cheaper.

Any theories on why chinos are cheaper for wine? It's the same for beer, too. Everything else they're more expensive.

edit: avoid buying meat in Dia!!!

When I first came here, I bought meat from Dia. First few times it was OK, but one day I opened up a package of pork and got a bad smell. Didn't even chance it, and have never bought meat from there again. I shudder to think what the next few days could have been like if I'd happened to have a cold while opening that package.

 

[Matiasba]

Any theories on why chinos are cheaper for wine? It's the same for beer, too. Everything else they're more expensive.



When I first came here, I bought meat from Dia. First few times it was OK, but one day I opened up a package of pork and got a bad smell. Didn't even chance it, and have never bought meat from there again. I shudder to think what the next few days could have been like if I'd happened to have a cold while opening that package.

The two times I bought meat at Dia I had to threw it away without even cook it. And I heard a lot of similar stories about Dia and the meat. The best option is the local butcher. Coto is good too, but overpriced.

 

[wineguy999]

Any theories on why chinos are cheaper for wine? It's the same for beer, too. Everything else they're more expensive.

From what I've observed, it's simply a lower profit margin. When I last did comparisons of wholesale vs retail prices, all the major supermarkets were basically charging double what they pay.

 

[cbonanni]

Beware buying wines at Chinos. Many are either damaged by exposure to heat , or are deemed inferior quality by the distributors , even though they may have a major brand label. Also the wholesalers dump excess quantities of certain brands to the Chinos at lower prices. Look for buy 5 get one free , or weekly specials at various stores. I also buy from some wholesalers , but they handle higher end wines . Too good to bring to friends asados , but taste great at home.

We do the dance as well. Taking advantage of card discounts , coupon days for bulk non perishables. Bread , pasta and meat come from local places within a block of home. Local vedularia is an Italian , and loves it when I order in Italian , singing out the Italian names for what I order. Agree Jumbo is highest price , but have some things I just have to have , that I cannot find else where. Plus I find the most attractive women shop there. Sometimes the eye candy is worth the extra costs......

 

[EdRooney]

I have another theory about the wine.

A lot of the wines i've seen in the chinos, especially in the case of stuff in the $50-$90 range is from older vintages than what you'd find in the big chain stores. So for example, last summer Coto was selling the 2012 Alamos Malbec for ballpark $69. Meanwhile, my chino around the corner had Alamos Malbec for $45. The difference? The chino had the 2009 vintage.

"But wait Ed" you protest, "isn't old wine better than new wine?" Not necessarily.

Most of the wines you buy on the shelf are meant for immediate consumption, and they begin to lose their vivacity if they are not built for age like higher quality Bordeaux or Burgundy (or some local upscale malbecs). Furthermore, wine wholesalers, just like most businesscritters, don't want to sit on a bunch of inventory. So the first thing they do is sell the latest vintage to Coto while its still drinking well, then they discount it, and then they ultimately mark it down for clearance.

Here's where the chinos come in. Most of the local markets buy in bulk from an association/mafia. And unlike say, Carrefour, the chino association does not have a designated wine buyer who understands vintages (or so I am told). So they buy the clearance stuff because it's a heckuva deal, not knowing/caring that it's inferior in quality to the newer vintages on the shelf at Disco.

Bottom line is, if you're into wine sometimes you can pick up a really great deal by dumpster diving through the chino wine section, but caveat emptor.

 

[glasgowjohn]

If you want to understand the dynamic of why one store is cheaper than another, you have to understand the battles/collusion that pervade in the Argentine market.

For example, Carrefour owns Día (Groupe Carrefour), and Jumbo owns Disco and Vea (Grupo Cencosud from Chile). And Coto (Arg) and Wal-Mart (US) (AFAIK) only open markets under their own names. Meanwhile the Chinos are independent in name only; most of them are not only members of an association that regulates prices and supply chains, but (rumour has it) they are also very dependant on the same mafia-like network to provide the titular owners that run the stores.

So you mainly have five players in the market:

1. Carrefour/Día/Norte​

2. Cencosud/Jumbo/Disco/Vea/Easy​

3. Coto​

4. Wal-Mart​

5. Chinos​

While there is certainly a history of animosity between the Chinos and the big market chains, recent years have shown suspiciously close pricing, and this was only solidified by all of them voluntarily acceding to the Precios Cuidados scheme.

Personally, we only set foot in one of the big chains on days when they have deep discounts, and I'm not wealthy enough to evenbreathe the air in Jumbo.

Carrefour no longer has a shareholding in Dia.

They sold out in June 2011

 

[Aleina Dee]

Another point to make is that primera marca is not becessarily mejor marca. Cheeses,dulces de leche,fiambre etc are often a lot better than the big make and cheaper.
I shop in supers for bargains,rare finds,brand variety but eggs from the greengrocer,fiambres from la fiambreria,wine from the chino and ever so often I go to barrio chino for fish,Liniers for a taste of the Andes.
BA is not boring for food but it is expensive in shoe leather. If you can shop in the am though as the best stuff goes by midday ,people take it home before the heat.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

However, la suerte cheeses are not bad, but are expensive and sold in the supermarket.

I always stop on the way back from Rosario in San Pedro, best cheese, dulce de leche, limoncello (if you like that sort of thing) and fiambres in Buenos Aires provincia. Need a car really to enjoy that benefit, also the YPF service station is one of my favourite pit stops. Decent medialunas.

If they are in season highly recommend buying peaches and oranges from San Pedro. Strawberries are good ig you catch them at the right moment.

Further afield we have friends in San Luis who bring cheese back from there, it's unbelievably strong and tasty.

Unfortunately consumer and commercial buying habits, monopolies and high transport costs to BA mean that only the monopolies get their products on the supermarket shelves, usually these are the products which have been treated with chemicals to give them a longer shelf life. Those tasty artesenal products used to be more prevalent in local neighbourhood shops, the current supply chain and product pricing make it no longer viable sadly.

I note that Avicar seem to be struggling with a few stores closing and indeed my local is only taking cash now. The pinch is on.

 

[Rich One]

However, la suerte cheeses are not bad, but are expensive and sold in the supermarket.

I always stop on the way back from Rosario in San Pedro, best cheese, dulce de leche, limoncello (if you like that sort of thing) and fiambres in Buenos Aires provincia. Need a car really to enjoy that benefit, also the YPF service station is one of my favourite pit stops. Decent medialunas.

If they are in season highly recommend buying peaches and oranges from San Pedro. Strawberries are good ig you catch them at the right moment.

Further afield we have friends in San Luis who bring cheese back from there, it's unbelievably strong and tasty.

Unfortunately consumer and commercial buying habits, monopolies and high transport costs to BA mean that only the monopolies get their products on the supermarket shelves, usually these are the products which have been treated with chemicals to give them a longer shelf life. Those tasty artesenal products used to be more prevalent in local neighbourhood shops, the current supply chain and product pricing make it no longer viable sadly.

I note that Avicar seem to be struggling with a few stores closing and indeed my local is only taking cash now. The pinch is on.

Not sorry for Avicar was highly overpriced ...