A Wong supermarket at Ovalo Gutierrez, Miraflores district of Lima, Peru
In Peru we have many companies that are based in a large town and do not have branches all over the country. Unlike the UK where you can find the same shops in most of the larger towns and cities, Peruvian towns and cities still have a lot of individual character. There are a few chains stores in Peru which I can tell you about.
One chain of supermarkets is called Wong, founded in 1942 by Chinese Peruvians (there are many Peruvians whose ancesters went to Peru 100 years ago). They started business in the San Isidro district of Lima which is one of the more wealthy areas and the second store is the one in the image above in the nearby district of Miraflores. There are now 14 Wong stores in Lima, which are very smart inside with all the staff wearing nice uniforms and helping you with your packing and even taking things to your car. They have a strong focus on customer service and make the customer feel important.
Wong also own another supermarket chain called Metro, which is cheaper and where you have to pack your own bags! There are now 17 Metro supermarkets in Lima.
The main competition for the Wong supermarkets is a company called ‘Supermercados Peruanos’, who own Plaza Vea and Vivanda supermarkets, a total of 52 stores across Peru. Compared to the Vivanda is more like Sainsburys while Plaza Vea is more like Asda. One difference someone from the UK would notice is that there are even long racks of car tyres in Plaza Vea – unlike Adsa – or even Aldi!
Another company you may not have heard of is Topitop. They are a clothing company started in 1983, that have stores in Peru, Colombia and Venezuala. They sell clothes for men, women and children, which they also make in their factories in Peru. Topitop also manufacture for other companies with export being a large part of their business.
Saga Falabella store in the Cayma district of Arequipa
Saga Falabella is a department store, maybe the best comparison in the UK is John Lewis or Debenhams. They have everything from clothes to washing machines to kitchen ware. They originally began in 1953 as the Peruvian division of the US company Sears, as Sears Roebuck del Perú S. A. and was later renamed as SAGA. During the economic problems of the 1980’s Sears pulled out and 10 years ago a Chilean company bought the company renaming it Saga Falabella. They now have stores in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Colombia.
You will also see Bembos, a Peruvian fast food company selling mainly burgers that started in 1988 and now have 30 outlets all over Lima. Bembos are 100 % quality, McDonalds or Burguer King are not competition for them.
InkaFarma is a Chilean owned chain of pharmacies that sell medicines, shampoos, nappies and things like hair dyes a bit like Boots. InkaFarma also have telephone ordering with delivery men that go out on scooters to peoples homes. They have expanded very rapidly in the last few years and you will see them everywhere. Other chains are Boticas Fasa and the Peruvian owned (still) Boticas Arcángel which is also all over Peru.
There are small chain stores in some cities, for example in my city there are two El Super (small supermarket, like the Co-Op) one in the city center and in another in Cayma district near my house or Artika Ice creams with three stores in Arequipa or Pollos a la Brasa El Pollo Real (Roasted Chicken with fries) that have at least three restaurants in Arequipa.
One very good example is small Chain Store Estilos that you just find in Arequipa, they sell the same stuff like in Saga Falabella, they have three shops in Arequipa and they are still in business because their customers are very loyal to them because they are a local company. And there are many examples like that in Arequipa.
Some links for you to explore (open in a new window):
www.ewong.com
www.vivanda.com.pe
www.plazavea.com.pe
www.topitop.com.pe
www.sagafalabella.com.pe
www.bembos.com.pe
www.inkafarma.com.pe
www.boticasfasa.com.pe
www.boticasarcangel.com
