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

Another town, another KFC!

In Peru all the towns are very different, so it’s very interesting to travel from place to place. I used to live in Arequipa, known as ’the white city’ because it has traditional buildings made with white volcanic rock called ‘sillar’. This feature is unique in Peru and many foreign and Peruvian people come to visit Arequipa to see the buildings.

I used to like to go to Cusco, I like a lot all the stone buidings, and the atmosphore in there. Cusco and Arequipa are in the same country but they are very different, there are different shops and I feel that people is different too. And there are more extreme comparisons between cities, for example Iquitos a city close to the Amazon River and another city in the mountains are completely different places.

There are just a few chain stores in Peru and most of the business are independent.

In the UK, I have travelled to many places like Nottingham, Brighton, Bournemouth, Eastbourne, Southampton, Cardiff, Exceter, Aylesbury, etc  and I noticed that everything looks very similar, with the exception of some towns like Bath or Harrogate. But the worst thing is that big chain stores have taken over the high streets and they have destroyed small businesses.

When I traveled from Portsmouth to Nottingham I felt I hadn’t traveled a lot because I saw the same shops like Boots, Superdrug, Greggs, WHSmith, Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Next, MacDonalds, PizzaHut, Burger King, KFC, JD Weatherspoons, Argos, Primark, etc. I feel something should be done to try to save the things that make a town unique.

Me in a Vivanda supermarket in Lima. Mountains of fresh produce!

In peru there is abundance of fruit and vegetables, it’s not very difficult to eat a wide variety of them and get more than your five a day. It is very fresh as it is all grown in Peru – bananas from the jungle and potatoes from the mountains – there is a climate in Peru for most types of crop.

In the UK people eat their main meal at dinner time, around 6pm or later, but in Peru people do at lunch. Most companies give an hour lunch break, so people can go an eat very cheaply a “menu” that it’s a three course meal sometimes four course meal (starter, main meal and dessert). This can be just 5 Soles in some places, which is about £1!

Potatoes! We have hundreds of varieties in Peru.

In Peru fruit and vegetables are very cheap because they are farmed locally, while processed foods are expensive, so people tend to eat less of them. The consequence of this is that you see few overweight people walking around.

There are some fast foods chains but a burger has the same price of a “menu” meal, so people prefer to eat a ‘menu’.

It’s weird but in Peru eating in McDonalds or KFC is kind of ‘cool’ because they are American businesses and everything American ‘must be cool’ for Peruvians. Some are very surpised when I tell them that it’s not cool here and it’s considered very cheap and unhealthy.

When I visit Peru I always look forward to eating really fresh bananas and avocadoes. I also miss some fruit that you cannot find in England such as Lucuma, Pepino and Tumbos. You can look these up on google!

Peruvian Style hats on sale in the street in Southampton

I have noticed many people this year wearing traditional style Peruvian hats. In Peru we call the hats  ‘Chullos’, pronounced like ‘Chul-Yoes’.

In Peru they are often very colourful, as traditionally people living in the Andes liked to have bright and cheerful colours in their clothes. People in the UK prefer more subtle colours and these hats are in darker and plainer colours but are still very like the Peruvian hat you would see in the mountains.

Of course in Peru we have woollen hats mainly made from alpaca wool, which is still produced in the traditional way with heard of alpaca in the mountains. The wool is then dyed and knitted with patterns like llamas, flowers and traitional patterns. You can buy these in the markets for a good price (even the ‘tourist price’ is good value). Hand made hats and gloves are common but they also make them with machines too. You can tell by how fine the knitting is. If you go to Peru alpaca hats, gloves, scarves or even a poncho make great affordable gifts - they are very warm! I bought some gloves for people here in the UK last time I went to Peru and they were pleased to have them for the winter. Also you will be supporting the local people and economy, which does not always benefit from the big hotel and tour companies.

Vivanda supermarket in Lima with lots of fruit!

Most of the people in Peru buy their groceries in open air markets, but the number of people that shop in supermarkets is increasing. There are many supermarkets in Lima and in another big cities, but in Lima you find the most variety.

Supermarkets in Peru have a huge variety of fruits and vegetables, half of many supermarkets is just fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.  Crisps, fizzy drinks and alcohol have a small space in supermarket aisles.

In Peruvian supermarkets you won’t find as many half prices and BOGOF than in british ones, in general they are not as ‘loud’ in their publicity but sometimes they are loud because they have music on:-).