The multinational corporation Cencosud has announced the closure of its Vea supermarket chain stores in Argentina. This measure is part of a major restructuring being carried out by the Chilean conglomerate amid a decline in consumer demand and the country's economic crisis.
According to voices in the retail sector, this does not mean Cencosud's complete withdrawal from the Argentine market, but rather "a reconfiguration of the store network with the aim of strengthening the group's most competitive brands, such as Jumbo, Disco, and Easy".
Recently, the company has closed several points of sale in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Catamarca, and San Juan, and then applied the same measure in Mendoza and Tucumán. In Guaymallén, Mendoza, a Vea store was closed, impacting 14 jobs. In turn, in San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province, the closure of a Vea store affected 55 employees, and an Easy store was also shut down.
Trade unions have indicated that the reasons for these decisions include a "sustained operational deficit" and "high rental costs." For example, in San Pedro, the rent for a store ranged from 18 to 34 million pesos per month, which became "an impossible amount to sustain with the current profit margin".
Labor unions link the closures to "a profound change in consumption habits," "a total drop in sales" due to the economic crisis, and "a loss in purchasing power." Previously, people would fill their carts, but today they only buy for the day.
Source: https://www.infogremiales.com.ar/por-el-derrumbe-del-consumo-vea-anuncio-cierre-de-sucursales-y-crece-la-crisis-en-el-sector-de-supermercados
