Comparing brands and products in Mexico and the world
I want to share an opinion based on observations I have made over the past year while traveling through various countries in South America and Europe. I hope this is not taken as nationalism: the intention is not to criticize other countries, but rather to appreciate something we have in Mexico that we rarely value.
One of the things that has struck me most is the sheer availability of international products and brands, as well as the scale and quality of our supermarkets, shopping malls, and department stores. It might seem trivial, but it has a tangible impact on daily life.
Supermarkets
I have visited large supermarkets in practically every country I have passed through, and generally, the variety tends to be narrower than in Mexico. Furthermore, imported goods are less common and, when available, considerably more expensive.
Nor do I think we appreciate the quality of many everyday Mexican household goods: dish detergent, laundry soap, shampoo and other personal care items, dishcloths, brooms, toilet paper, and so on. While other countries have good products, I have been surprised by how difficult it is to find the same level of quality and variety. The most striking case was Brazil, where I found few foreign goods and a heavy reliance on local manufacturing that, across many categories, struck me as vastly inferior in quality.
When it comes to food, the difference is just as evident. Whether it is ham, cheese, dairy products in general, meats, bread, biscuits, snacks, sauces, pasta staples, canned goods, and so on. The standard selection in Mexico is extraordinarily broad and high-quality.
Naturally, there are exceptions: Argentina has better domestic wines; France, a wider variety of cheeses; Spain, far more charcuterie; and Italy, a pasta selection that is hard to match. Yet even in those cases, the gap compared to what we routinely find in Mexico is not as wide as one might imagine.
Something similar happens with international brands of clothing, footwear, accessories, home appliances, and technology. Mexico has greater availability than most of the countries I have visited; the ones that can match this variety are England, France, and Spain.
These are not casual impressions: over the past year, I made a point of visiting supermarkets, shopping malls, and department stores in every country specifically to observe these differences.
Shopping malls
This is where it is hardest to say without sounding pretentious, but the major shopping malls in Mexico's principal cities are on an extraordinarily high level.
It is not just our own perception: you only have to look at the number of videos on social media from Americans and other foreigners who visit them and are amazed. In Mexico, many malls are not merely clusters of stores, but architectural spaces and experiences in their own right.
Of all the ones I have visited across various countries, there are only two that strike me as truly comparable. In Santiago, the MUT (Mercado Urbano Tobalaba), which is new and features an architectural and retail concept that reminded me of the finest Mexican developments. In London, Battersea Power Station, also relatively new and built inside a decommissioned, repurposed power station, which offers a genuine visual spectacle and very pleasant shopping spaces.
There are many remarkable shopping malls in Mexico, but developments like Artz Pedregal, Toreo Parque Central, and Mítikah in Mexico City; Andares Shopping Mall or Galerías Guadalajara in Guadalajara; as well as many others across different cities, consistently astonish foreigners with their sheer scale, variety of brands, flagship stores, wealth of restaurants, food halls, entertainment options, architecture, open-air spaces and gardens, right down to the size of the movie theaters.
Department stores
A similar thing happens with department stores. El Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool (our biggest department stores) have very little direct competition when it comes to size, variety, and shopping experience. In South America I found some very good stores, but none that bring all three elements together at the same level.
In Europe there are a few comparable ones. Spain has El Corte Inglés, though to me it feels inferior in experience and concept; Italy has Rinascente, which is not on the same level either.
The ones that can genuinely compare to the big Mexican department stores are in France: Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, La Samaritaine, and Le Bon Marché. In England, Liberty comes very close in quality and personality, although it is considerably smaller, something it makes up for with its marvelous historic building.
The only one that, in my view, truly surpasses the Mexican stores is Harrods. The building is gorgeous, the central staircase is spectacular —even if it looks like something straight out of a Las Vegas casino— and the store offers an exceptional variety, with goods hard to find in Mexico, particularly certain art pieces and highly specialized items.
Yet even with stores that match ours and one that surpasses them, the number of locations is incomparable: Liverpool, for instance, has 28 branches in Mexico City, 7 in Guadalajara, and 6 in Monterrey. As for El Palacio de Hierro, it has 8 stores in Mexico City, while Guadalajara and Monterrey have one store each. Across the entire country, there are 15 Palacio de Hierro stores, which is substantial for a department store with such an exclusive and selective model. Liverpool, which is not far behind, has 125 stores throughout Mexico. Even Sears, which easily outperforms the department stores I visited in many countries, has 93 locations across Mexico.
Stores like Harrods, Liberty, La Samaritaine, and Le Bon Marché are unique, there is only one in the entire country. The ones that do have more branches are Galeries Lafayette (57) and Printemps (20), but I have visited branches both in Paris and outside Paris, and they are smaller, lacking that same complete experience with all departments, food halls, and everything else.
Those are my observations, and this is my reflection. We Mexicans rarely appreciate these things because they are part of our everyday normal. That distinctly Mexican trait we tend to call "humildad" (being humble) also leads us at times to lose sight of Mexico's economic and commercial weight in the world, and the standard of retail variety we take for granted without even thinking about it. And just like this seemingly superficial aspect, there are many others.