It's no secret that the Argentine economy has suffered a big hit over the past year, particularly because of the pandemic. And one of their many casualties is Walmart, which has sold their stores to a Latin American retail company called Grupo de Narvaez.
Sadly, the means that the store, as we've known it, is likely going to change. So, many of the items we couldn't find in other Argentine food chains, may no longer be available. We're talking things like:
- Waffles, which they recently introduced here (only at Walmart as far as we know)
- Bacon (the real kind, not the one that some Argentine supermarkets are trying to pass off as bacon)
- Cheddar cheese (again, not the kind that local supermarkets are claiming is cheddar but is really just American cheese... AND YES! There's a difference!)
Some of the other items that we're going to miss include:
- Fried mushroom
- Fried broccoli
- Bagels (occasionally)
- Ginger Ale
- Microwavable food items that don't actually suck (like the items on the top shelf pictured below)
But we're also going to miss the fact that you could actually walk around the meat and poultry section without wanting to puke from the stench. Whenever we go to a Libertad or VEA supermarket in Cordoba City, the meat smells so rotten that it feels like we're in a morgue without air conditioner or refrigeration units. But Walmart's meat section is always fresh.
Another thing we're going to miss is how efficient the security guards are. While we were in line, they were telling people who had their masks down to their chin to put their masks on right and they only allowed one person to be in line at a time. By this I mean that when we tried going in, the security guard told one of us to wait outside in order to limit a crowd, which in this day and age is a health risk. You're definitely not going to find that level of efficiency in other supermarkets around here.
But I'll admit that the Argentine Walmart Stores didn't always have what we were looking for either. For one thing, their DVD sections are limited to a handful of movies and no DVD boxes. But that's typical around here. It's why bootlegs are the norm in this country.
They also got rid of their international food section which I'm assuming is the result of the company finding it difficult to import certain items into the country, like Kraft Mac and Cheese. Either that, or people just weren't interested in international items and the corporate heads realized they were losing money.
| Turkey slices, ginger ale, donuts, plantains |
| Cole Slaw |
| Flashback to when we found Mac and Cheese in 2013 |
| Although it's a Great Value brand, it still tastes much better than the Argie's Knorr brand. Side note: I was a young man once. Wow! |
But one thing we've noticed is that while the Walmart stores here have more food brand options, they don't come nearly close to what's offered back home. Take cereal for example. In the states, you can find Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Trix, Honeycomb, Froot Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and several other brands, each with their own unique flavors and twist. Argentine Walmart stores are limited to the basic like Corn Flakes, Froot Loops and a bunch of generic brands that are practically clones of the premium brands.
Despite some of the cons, we're going to miss Walmart in Argentina. The store's spacious floor set up is nearly identical to the one in the states. So, with the exception of the signs that are in Spanish, it felt like we were back home. Now this may not mean much to some of our fellow expats who are able to travel back and forth. But our budget is severely limited. We haven't been home in over eight years, and if I'm being honest, the odds of going back for a visit are a billion to one. It's why Walmart was such a big deal to us and why we're so bummed that they are leaving.
As far as when this transition of power is going to occur remains to be seen. I asked a few store employees about how they felt about what was happening but only one of them seemed to know what was going on and he had no idea if people were going to lose their jobs or if they were all just going to change uniforms and continue working once the transition was complete.
Regardless, we already said our goodbyes over the weekend just in case this really was the last time. BUT WAIT! There might be a silver lining!
When I reached out to Walmart Argentina via e-mail, they claimed that their stores would continue operating the same as always and that their products and customer service would remain the same. So did we jump the gun? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
