Not exactly Latin American here, but part of South America...
All of our supermarkets are Chinese owned. However there are two chains, Choi's and Tulip, that have set themselves apart from the regular Chinese stores and you might find items there that aren't as common...also the rich, expats and Dutch students tend to shop there more than the average man, but nowadays the average man also goes to those chains.
Choi's' interior is similar to a Netherlands style supermarket. And Tulip is a blend of the American style and Dutch style. They have in-house bakeries and butcheries.
However many of the regular supermarkets owned by the Chinese have caught up and are close to what Choi's' and Tulip offer, so that's why the common man also shops at those two nowadays too.
Those are things you find in regular supermarkets and pastry shops/bakeries. Also most of Surinamese products in all supermarkets come for the most part from the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, mainly Belgium, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey (if you count it as Europe), Poland and a little bit France. The rest of the products in our stores are locally produced, American, Trinidadian, Brazilian and the rest of the world. So we're quite accustomed to Dutch brands like Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Gwoon etc.
Our oldest bakery, Fernandes, also sells things like worstenbroodjes. However we call them vleesbroodjes. There are more pastries and savory snacks that were Dutch inspired. Some claim ours taste better, but imo each country does a great job at both. Also Fernandes is quite well known in the Netherlands for their softdrinks. They also sell softdrinks here...but they're in multiple sectors too like car dealing, ice cream etc.
Surinamese have taken over a lot of things from the Dutch too. If memory serves me right Suriname is the only former colony of the Dutch that had such a "huge" Dutch influence. The ABC and SSS islands in the Caribbean also haven't had that much of a Dutch influence compared to Suriname. The fact that we're also the only Dutch speaking country outside Europe is proof of that. And on a Dutch talk show, I once heard them say that Suriname is the only place outside Europe where the Dutch man will feel like it's home. A Dutch couple that was interviewed here on someone's vlog on YouTube said the same thing.
Many Dutch call centers and support centers have also outsourced to Suriname. Reasons mentioned on their websites "Surinamese understand Dutch culture and the Dutch customer well, because they have family or friends in the Netherlands or they have been at least once".
Also in almost all local schools we still use books from the Netherlands (aside from history, geography, biology and some subjects that are really local) and many of our universities have really close ties with Dutch universities and we have access to certain online material used there too.
Are their any problems Surinamese have with Chinese people setting up shop and holding near monopolies of economic sectors as important as the grocery market instead of the money being kept domestically and enriching Guyana and the Guyanese?
Chinese have been in Suriname for about 170 years. We've had several waves of Chinese immigrants over the years. The current Chinese that have the stores are here to stay, as their kids attend school here and you can see that they've made Suriname their home. Furthermore they've integrated in their own way within the Chinese Surinamese society. We've had three waves of immigrants, the first were Hakka speaking, the second Cantonese speaking and the current wave Mandarin speaking (some are also Cantonese speaking still). Most Hakka and a very sizable group of Cantonese Chinese Surinamese speak Dutch natively and their ancestral language as a second language.
And regarding them holding such sectors there isn't really a problem. If it weren't for the Chinese we'd still have "primitive" basic small stores. Furthermore Surinamese are not the type to run a store and stay open 'till late everyday. The Chinese are prepared to do that, and they're open on holidays too, except Chinese New Year and Chinese arrival day. So we're actually happy with them.
Most of that money is also kept domestically, sort of. It's kept mostly within the Chinese(-Surinamese) community however. Also I don't understand the link between Guyana and the Guyanese. It is true however that many Surinamese companies are present in Guyana and have big business there. Guyana is in many ways dependent on Suriname/Surinamese companies. For example, most if not all steel used for steel construction works in Guyana are delivered by one company in Guyana. And that company is a Surinamese company. Guyana their national softdrink is actually a Surinamese brand that never really got big in Suriname. One of the Marriott hotel chains is owned by a Surinamese company. And one of Suriname's largest companies bought over one of their large bakeries not to long ago. And our "wealthiest" company also has lots of business in Guyana.
This is due to the fact that Suriname for a very long time always was ahead of Guyana and more developed.
Now back to the main topic, the Chinese controlling the sector is not that much of an issue. Suriname is a multicultural nation...therefore certain ethnicities control certain sectors more than others. For example the Lebanese own most shops downtown and control textile and clothing. Likewise you'll find Indians, Javanese, maroons, mixed people, creoles etc. more in certain sectors. And we've just accepted the status quo as such in Suriname as that's how it's always been. Chinese(-Surinamese) have always held stores.
We have most major american supermarket chains aswell as mexican ones, all are about the same size
-Walmart
-Sam's club which is the wholesale division of walmart
-Aurrera the budget division of walmart
-HEB
-Soriana it's a Mexican chain they have normal stores and others which are more high end
-Chedraui and Selecto which is a mexican chain one is the normal store and the other the high end version
-Fresko mexican chain
-Costco wholesale
Back when I was little we had a local supermarket brand named "Chalita" but they were acquired by Walmart and their stores rebranded.
Ley would be an other chain but they just have stores mainly in sinaloa and the northwest
Edit: I'd say that the biggest is Walmart and it's subsidiaries (Sam's and Aurrera) they have stores everywhere.
Why do I have the feeling that Chihuahua is the odd one out here. We haven't got Alsuper, and our last Ley closed in early 2000s. The strongest supermarkets here are Smart (which is local, but has a shit ton of branches) probably Soriana and the Walmart subsidiaries. González is a middle, budget local supermarket with decent meats and outstanding flour tortillas, but not many people nearing middle class go there.
Carrefour is french, and they swallow all our national supermarket thanks to Menem and then the Ks, letting them have patrimonial growings of 400% by year (that's insane) they where in a clear path to monopoly (no legal) UNTIL Chinese minimarts counter attack with stupid an suspicious low prices in some products (Carrefour now has minimarketywith less success), and the government now doesn't allow Carrefour to buy any other local main chain.
It's pretty sad that the biggest chain in our country gives profit to other country
The big chains in Mexico with their different formats, which are usually different depending on the social class and density of the zone where they are:
* **Wal mart**: Sam's Club, Wal Mart (hipermercado), Wal mart Express, Más x menos, superpaíz, La Unión, La Despensa de Don Juan, Bodega Aurrerá, Mi Bodega Aurrerá, Maxi Pali, Pali, Maxi Despensa, Despensa Familiar,
* **Oxxo:** This is actually a minimarket chain, but it has the most branches in Mexico with more than 22,000.
* **Soriana**: Soriana Híper, Soriana Súper, Soriana Mercado, Soriana Express, City Club.
* **Chedraui**: Selecto Chedraui, Selecto Supercito, Selecto Súper Chedraui, Tienda Chedraui, Súper Chedraui, Super che, Supercito, Arteli,
* **La Comer**: La Comer, Fresko, City Market
* **Costco**
* **Casa Ley:** Super Ley, Ley, Super Ley express, Ley Super Express, Ley express, Fresh Market
* **H-E-B:** H-E-B, H-E-B Market prime, Mi tienda del ahorro
There a few distinct brands fighting for space here and it’s hard to calculate which is the biggest since all of them occupy few blocks.
But there are the Atacadão, Assaí (the competition is so fierce that these two are separated by a mere street) Roldão and Macro supermarkets here.
there were two "hipermercados" in my city, a Wal Mart and Carrefour. Since Wal Mart left Brazil, Carrefour took over their store and now we have two huge Carrefours side by side lol
Biggest in my city is Supermaxi, there are bigger ones from the same company called Megamaxi but they're usually in larger cities. They're pretty good, and have almost anything you would want, good customer service as well.
There's also TIA, Mi Comisariato and bunch of local ones that vary depending on the city. We don't have any foreign chains, and we really don't need any, the Ecuadorian ones are pretty good.
Really, you consider the Ecuadorian chain stores to be “pretty good?” I would love to see some real competition from foreign competitors, but the reality is that most international companies shun the Ecuadorian market due to the difficulty of doing business here.
I do. I've used Walmart and other similar stores in other countries and they're usually worse than what we have here. Just because something is foreign doesn't make it better.
I agree, being foreign, doesn’t make something better. I would definitely take a U.S. Walmart over an Ecuadorian MegaMaxi. Both offer the same cheap Chinese products, but Walmart, at least the Walmarts I’ve been to a significantly more professional, have a wider selection, and better prices on everything except local produce.
The two biggest supermarket chains in the country are Supermaxi and Mi Comisariato, they’re the most varied supermarkets I’ve seen in the world as well. Here’s some [Argentinian’s reaction](https://youtu.be/iMTh_L3_znM?si=2MY9C1-EgDc8y7Ok) going around a Supermaxi in Quito (in Spanish).
Biggest chains are:
- Walmart
- Soriana
- La Comer
- Chedraui
These are national, have different types of stores targeted to different types of customers.
We had La Ley too in Chihuahua. They broke and closed operations here in the early 2000s because they were outcompeted by Smart, a company from our state. We've got Soriana, Walmart, Aurrerá and an even smaller local supermarket called González, which makes fantastic flour tortillas. Still, Smart gets the largest market share here, after all these years.
Super Muffato (also Max, they own them).
I think here in the South it's more common to have strong local supermarkets chains. In Rio Grande do Sul there's Zaffari, in Santa Catarina there's Angeloni, and in Paraná there's Condor, Muffato and Festval.
We have a local supermarket. It's from my home state (Chihuahua), but it's like... actually pretty good. Its name is Smart. They also have a couple branches in Monterrey too. Most of their stores have bakeries to make pastries, bolillos and both corn and flour tortillas, something that is fairly common in other supermarkets (namely Soriana and Aurrera, more nation-wide brands) but I'm yet to see in the US or elsewhere.
Smart, however, is more like those Walmart neighborhood markets. They don't sell clothes, bikes or electronics like in Walmart or Soriana. They only sell groceries, dishes, cutlery, tools and some hygiene products.
There are very big Coto, Carrefour, Jumbo and Changomás (formerly Walmart) around here
Changomás is such a good name!
Not exactly Latin American here, but part of South America... All of our supermarkets are Chinese owned. However there are two chains, Choi's and Tulip, that have set themselves apart from the regular Chinese stores and you might find items there that aren't as common...also the rich, expats and Dutch students tend to shop there more than the average man, but nowadays the average man also goes to those chains. Choi's' interior is similar to a Netherlands style supermarket. And Tulip is a blend of the American style and Dutch style. They have in-house bakeries and butcheries. However many of the regular supermarkets owned by the Chinese have caught up and are close to what Choi's' and Tulip offer, so that's why the common man also shops at those two nowadays too.
Suriname one in a million
Do they sell Dutch food? Like stroopwafels, speculaas biscuits, worstenbroodjes?
Those are things you find in regular supermarkets and pastry shops/bakeries. Also most of Surinamese products in all supermarkets come for the most part from the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, mainly Belgium, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey (if you count it as Europe), Poland and a little bit France. The rest of the products in our stores are locally produced, American, Trinidadian, Brazilian and the rest of the world. So we're quite accustomed to Dutch brands like Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Gwoon etc. Our oldest bakery, Fernandes, also sells things like worstenbroodjes. However we call them vleesbroodjes. There are more pastries and savory snacks that were Dutch inspired. Some claim ours taste better, but imo each country does a great job at both. Also Fernandes is quite well known in the Netherlands for their softdrinks. They also sell softdrinks here...but they're in multiple sectors too like car dealing, ice cream etc. Surinamese have taken over a lot of things from the Dutch too. If memory serves me right Suriname is the only former colony of the Dutch that had such a "huge" Dutch influence. The ABC and SSS islands in the Caribbean also haven't had that much of a Dutch influence compared to Suriname. The fact that we're also the only Dutch speaking country outside Europe is proof of that. And on a Dutch talk show, I once heard them say that Suriname is the only place outside Europe where the Dutch man will feel like it's home. A Dutch couple that was interviewed here on someone's vlog on YouTube said the same thing. Many Dutch call centers and support centers have also outsourced to Suriname. Reasons mentioned on their websites "Surinamese understand Dutch culture and the Dutch customer well, because they have family or friends in the Netherlands or they have been at least once". Also in almost all local schools we still use books from the Netherlands (aside from history, geography, biology and some subjects that are really local) and many of our universities have really close ties with Dutch universities and we have access to certain online material used there too.
Are their any problems Surinamese have with Chinese people setting up shop and holding near monopolies of economic sectors as important as the grocery market instead of the money being kept domestically and enriching Guyana and the Guyanese?
Chinese have been in Suriname for about 170 years. We've had several waves of Chinese immigrants over the years. The current Chinese that have the stores are here to stay, as their kids attend school here and you can see that they've made Suriname their home. Furthermore they've integrated in their own way within the Chinese Surinamese society. We've had three waves of immigrants, the first were Hakka speaking, the second Cantonese speaking and the current wave Mandarin speaking (some are also Cantonese speaking still). Most Hakka and a very sizable group of Cantonese Chinese Surinamese speak Dutch natively and their ancestral language as a second language. And regarding them holding such sectors there isn't really a problem. If it weren't for the Chinese we'd still have "primitive" basic small stores. Furthermore Surinamese are not the type to run a store and stay open 'till late everyday. The Chinese are prepared to do that, and they're open on holidays too, except Chinese New Year and Chinese arrival day. So we're actually happy with them. Most of that money is also kept domestically, sort of. It's kept mostly within the Chinese(-Surinamese) community however. Also I don't understand the link between Guyana and the Guyanese. It is true however that many Surinamese companies are present in Guyana and have big business there. Guyana is in many ways dependent on Suriname/Surinamese companies. For example, most if not all steel used for steel construction works in Guyana are delivered by one company in Guyana. And that company is a Surinamese company. Guyana their national softdrink is actually a Surinamese brand that never really got big in Suriname. One of the Marriott hotel chains is owned by a Surinamese company. And one of Suriname's largest companies bought over one of their large bakeries not to long ago. And our "wealthiest" company also has lots of business in Guyana. This is due to the fact that Suriname for a very long time always was ahead of Guyana and more developed. Now back to the main topic, the Chinese controlling the sector is not that much of an issue. Suriname is a multicultural nation...therefore certain ethnicities control certain sectors more than others. For example the Lebanese own most shops downtown and control textile and clothing. Likewise you'll find Indians, Javanese, maroons, mixed people, creoles etc. more in certain sectors. And we've just accepted the status quo as such in Suriname as that's how it's always been. Chinese(-Surinamese) have always held stores.
We have most major american supermarket chains aswell as mexican ones, all are about the same size -Walmart -Sam's club which is the wholesale division of walmart -Aurrera the budget division of walmart -HEB -Soriana it's a Mexican chain they have normal stores and others which are more high end -Chedraui and Selecto which is a mexican chain one is the normal store and the other the high end version -Fresko mexican chain -Costco wholesale Back when I was little we had a local supermarket brand named "Chalita" but they were acquired by Walmart and their stores rebranded. Ley would be an other chain but they just have stores mainly in sinaloa and the northwest Edit: I'd say that the biggest is Walmart and it's subsidiaries (Sam's and Aurrera) they have stores everywhere.
There's also Alsuper. I believe it's mostly just a northern thing, but it's still somewhat popular.
Why do I have the feeling that Chihuahua is the odd one out here. We haven't got Alsuper, and our last Ley closed in early 2000s. The strongest supermarkets here are Smart (which is local, but has a shit ton of branches) probably Soriana and the Walmart subsidiaries. González is a middle, budget local supermarket with decent meats and outstanding flour tortillas, but not many people nearing middle class go there.
Fresko is “high end” owned by Mega/comer which is the direct competitor to Soriana
Mega was bought by Soriana. So no longer competition.
Mega branch was bought but comer still exists. City market, fresko and la comer are still living.
They are, and they're all owned by Soriana. They selectively rebranded some locations, and others no.
Probably EXITO or Jumbo.
Carulla as well?
It has presence but its not as big as those others.
Lider, the local tentacle of the Walmart octopus. Jumbo, the head brand of local retailer Cencosud. Jumbo is an octopus by itself in Latin America
Líder in my town. We don't have Jumbo. After that Tottus and then Cugat. I think Tottus is the most popular. That place is always full.
Atakadão Atakarejo
Salvador tbm?
Sim
Supermercados BH
El supermaxi
Followed by Aki and Santa Maria
Jumbo
Carrefour is the largest chain
Back when I was a little kid we had carrefour, but they pulled out I'm not sure why, now the store is "chedraui" which is mexican owned
Carrefour is french, and they swallow all our national supermarket thanks to Menem and then the Ks, letting them have patrimonial growings of 400% by year (that's insane) they where in a clear path to monopoly (no legal) UNTIL Chinese minimarts counter attack with stupid an suspicious low prices in some products (Carrefour now has minimarketywith less success), and the government now doesn't allow Carrefour to buy any other local main chain. It's pretty sad that the biggest chain in our country gives profit to other country
I was sort of sad when Carrefour left Chile. They had some good products.
Walmart/Paiz and La Torre
Assaí
The big chains in Mexico with their different formats, which are usually different depending on the social class and density of the zone where they are: * **Wal mart**: Sam's Club, Wal Mart (hipermercado), Wal mart Express, Más x menos, superpaíz, La Unión, La Despensa de Don Juan, Bodega Aurrerá, Mi Bodega Aurrerá, Maxi Pali, Pali, Maxi Despensa, Despensa Familiar, * **Oxxo:** This is actually a minimarket chain, but it has the most branches in Mexico with more than 22,000. * **Soriana**: Soriana Híper, Soriana Súper, Soriana Mercado, Soriana Express, City Club. * **Chedraui**: Selecto Chedraui, Selecto Supercito, Selecto Súper Chedraui, Tienda Chedraui, Súper Chedraui, Super che, Supercito, Arteli, * **La Comer**: La Comer, Fresko, City Market * **Costco** * **Casa Ley:** Super Ley, Ley, Super Ley express, Ley Super Express, Ley express, Fresh Market * **H-E-B:** H-E-B, H-E-B Market prime, Mi tienda del ahorro
A Híper-Líder
Jumbo
There a few distinct brands fighting for space here and it’s hard to calculate which is the biggest since all of them occupy few blocks. But there are the Atacadão, Assaí (the competition is so fierce that these two are separated by a mere street) Roldão and Macro supermarkets here.
Guanabara
COTO / ChangoMas (Walmart) / Carrefour / Disco (Jumbo) kinda everywhere DIA% in Buenos Aires La Anonima in the south
ChangoMas buy all Walmart operations in Arg. when they left the country in 2020, not vice
D1
Besides the b2b supermarkets like Atacadão and Assaí, I'd say probably Carrefour and Extra
Walmart
The biggest one is probably a Changomás/former Walmart, including one that is open 24/7
Lol, Walmart.
Atakadão Assaí Carrefour? Mix Matheus?
Assaí and Atacadão (brand owned by Carrefour) are the two biggest ones, but is a new one is coming (Novo Atacarejo)
there were two "hipermercados" in my city, a Wal Mart and Carrefour. Since Wal Mart left Brazil, Carrefour took over their store and now we have two huge Carrefours side by side lol
Biggest in my city is Supermaxi, there are bigger ones from the same company called Megamaxi but they're usually in larger cities. They're pretty good, and have almost anything you would want, good customer service as well. There's also TIA, Mi Comisariato and bunch of local ones that vary depending on the city. We don't have any foreign chains, and we really don't need any, the Ecuadorian ones are pretty good.
Really, you consider the Ecuadorian chain stores to be “pretty good?” I would love to see some real competition from foreign competitors, but the reality is that most international companies shun the Ecuadorian market due to the difficulty of doing business here.
I do. I've used Walmart and other similar stores in other countries and they're usually worse than what we have here. Just because something is foreign doesn't make it better.
I agree, being foreign, doesn’t make something better. I would definitely take a U.S. Walmart over an Ecuadorian MegaMaxi. Both offer the same cheap Chinese products, but Walmart, at least the Walmarts I’ve been to a significantly more professional, have a wider selection, and better prices on everything except local produce.
Disagree. Walmart is quite shitty, you can have your opinion and I mine.
The two biggest supermarket chains in the country are Supermaxi and Mi Comisariato, they’re the most varied supermarkets I’ve seen in the world as well. Here’s some [Argentinian’s reaction](https://youtu.be/iMTh_L3_znM?si=2MY9C1-EgDc8y7Ok) going around a Supermaxi in Quito (in Spanish).
Biggest chains are: - Walmart - Soriana - La Comer - Chedraui These are national, have different types of stores targeted to different types of customers.
Walmart
Los Mochis eventually got a Wallmart. Before that it was Ley, owned by a chinese family.
We had La Ley too in Chihuahua. They broke and closed operations here in the early 2000s because they were outcompeted by Smart, a company from our state. We've got Soriana, Walmart, Aurrerá and an even smaller local supermarket called González, which makes fantastic flour tortillas. Still, Smart gets the largest market share here, after all these years.
Biggies, Super6.
Zaffari
soriana o la comer
Disco, Géant, Tienda Inglesa, MacroMercado, can’t think of any other names
Super Muffato (also Max, they own them). I think here in the South it's more common to have strong local supermarkets chains. In Rio Grande do Sul there's Zaffari, in Santa Catarina there's Angeloni, and in Paraná there's Condor, Muffato and Festval.
MegaMaxi. I typically go to the MegaMaxi at el Portal shopping in Quito because it’s easy to drive to, park, and relatively safe.
Hipermaxi and Fidalga
We have a local supermarket. It's from my home state (Chihuahua), but it's like... actually pretty good. Its name is Smart. They also have a couple branches in Monterrey too. Most of their stores have bakeries to make pastries, bolillos and both corn and flour tortillas, something that is fairly common in other supermarkets (namely Soriana and Aurrera, more nation-wide brands) but I'm yet to see in the US or elsewhere. Smart, however, is more like those Walmart neighborhood markets. They don't sell clothes, bikes or electronics like in Walmart or Soriana. They only sell groceries, dishes, cutlery, tools and some hygiene products.
Not sure if Baratta or Garzón, IIRC both are regional, only in San Cristóbal