I have discussed many times on other blog's comment sections and even in here that there is an explanation you pay more for things in Brazil.
Long story short, it is the old story that Brazilians choose not to be flooded with cheap crap MADE IN CHINA and see it's industry dissolve like we are watching in the USA.
In theory, Brazil's choice is FAR SMARTER, it is no rocket science here, you choose to pay more for things so you can have your own factories and keep jobs home, ok, easy until here...
HOWEVER!!! There are some AWFUL, revolting discrepancies that are mind blogging to this Brazilian turned American here...
EXHIBIT A:
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| I just hope to GOD you don't owe a pair of these beauties :) !!! |
A pair of NIKE SHOX R 4 on sale for U$382,00!!!!!!!! that is R$649,00 !!!!! you can find this absurd on Netshoes, a Brazilian on line shoe store and they mention FREE DELIVERY, well, with that PRICE you could give me a FREE WEEKEND at a LUXURY SPA and I would still feel ROBBED.
What? Are you serious?
They cost little over U$100,00 at Foot Locker in the US and I have never even seen someone wearing one, by the way, maybe I don't pay attention, but I guarantee you, wearing a NIKE SHOX R4 is no status symbol in the Boston area.
Gil told me he saw a gazillion Brazilians wearing them at the Airport when we were flying back home, this is how he identified if someone was from Brazil at the airport, by their freaking sneakers!!!
Here is where my mind drifts away into the following image: It's Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to pick Brazilians among the crowds and he gives the order to his SS soldiers, THEY ALL WEAR NIKE SHOX, it will be easy to pick them out of a crowd, just round up every idiot wearing a Nike that attempts to cross into Switzerland...lol...( Hey! I can joke about Hitler, I am half Jew : ) ! )
I identify Brazilians by the way they look at you staring with no discretion, but that's another discussion for another day.
People around New England look down on brand names and people showing off anything, the in thing to do here has always been "to be discreet" and "frugal". Frugality is a HUGE characteristic of New Englanders, not Miami by any means of the imagination, but thank GOD and the sweet baby Jesus we don't live Florida anymore and I don't have to see my neighbours wearing PRADA shoes and driving the latest, most expensive BMW model, wearing a lot of cologne in 120F degree weather.
We drive old Saabs and old Volvos around here with very few exceptions, wear Levi's jeans and most people don't know what PRADA means and don't care to find out! :)
New Englanders pride themselves in saving money in any way they can, my 97 year old neighbor, who fought in WWII, have told me the story when he built a snow blower with an old engine from his 1962 Buick Roadmaster, that is one massive snow blower, it is still working by the way, but his daughter in Buffalo uses it now. She is the only one who sees enough snow to justify a snow blower made from a V8 Buick engine....oh, you gotta love Mr. Mahoney's stories! :)
Geez, I get side tracked like nobodies business, back to my expensive NIKE RANT!
I have never paid more than 40 dollars for a pair of sneakers, they are tennis shoes for Christ sakes!!!
What are these people thinking!!!!!!
When my old sneakers are falling a part I usually buy a new pair at SAM'S Club along with my cereal and my bananas and I spend all of 30 seconds to choose it. Sam's Club usually carries ONE type/color sneakers so I just have to make sure I pick my correct size, it's usually 30 some dollars, never over 40, N E V E R !!!
I have read in a couple of blogs that it is the ultimate status symbol to own one of this awful looking things in Brazil, :( !!!!
These are things that make me realize how Americanized and out touch with Brazil I have become in the past 13 years living in the US and that is mostly why I read so many Expats living in Brazil blogs, in hopes to learn from what you guys are going thru during your adaptation processes and what we have to look forward when we move back home.
I DO think that it is great that every thing is MADE IN BRAZIL and you guys don't import hardly anything, BUT COME ON People, this is just crossing too many lines on my book!
Ok, now, please don't you all write me and tell me you all have a pair of Nike Shox and make me feel like an idiot!
And again if you do! I will just have console myself in the fact that YOU are probably way to BRAZILIANIZED yourself already... :)
HA!
: )
Rant over, feel the blood pressure coming down now...
Ray
10 comments:
I am so confused... I thought the reason why the prices in Brazil where so high was because of the 50% importation tax implied to all goods? If they are made in Brazil why so expensive??? Not that I want a pair of those shoes but it would be nice to be able to afford other things... I am hoping you can shed light on this matter :)
Dear Sara,
I totally understand your confusion, let me give you a couple of examples.
Brazil places HUGE taxes on the import of NIKE SHOXS and if NIKE wants to make this model available to 200 million Brazilians they have to open a NIKE factory in BRAZIL or face competition from other factories already established in BRAZIL.
So, most likely THIS SPECIFIC MODEL OF NIKE is still NOT MADE IN BRAZIL, if you want it, you have to buy the import and pay a fortune, if they started making them in BRAZIL they would definitely cost less, not as little as in the US, but much less.
NIKE makes several other models in their NIKE factories around BRAZIL that don't cost so much and you can definitely buy a pair of sneakers for much less than this absurd amount of money.
There is also what is called the "BRAZIL COST" as it is known in the business world. The "BRAZIL COST" is the cost of doing business in Brazil, the Brazil cost involves a lot of things, for example, the fact that Brazilian factory workers get 30 days guaranteed vacation per year, they also get a 13th salary guaranteed by law, pregnant mothers get many months off, I am not sure if it's 6 months paid time off plus the NEW DAD gets time off as well, then you have high taxes to cover BOLSA FAMILIA type programs, Brazilian factories have to FEED their workers ( FREE LUNCH? YOU BET), Brazilian factories have to pay transportation to and from work to their factory workers, so these things and many more add up to what is called the BRAZIL COST or "CUSTO BRAZIL".
Some industries such as the automobile industry has been stablished in Brazil for almost 100 years, so they have learned to cut costs and are well adapted so you can buy a crappy little FIAT UNO for very little money.
I will write a post soon about this subject and try to clarify a few more points.
Basically, the Brazilian governament forces factories to be opened in the country by putting high taxes on imports but when products are made in Brazil they also carry a cost...high taxes etc...
Long story short, the US is the only country where I see things for the price we see.
I have a friend in Paris who is FURIOUS with the price of LANCOME products in the US, they cost much less than in FRANCE where they are made.
German cars cost much less in the US than in EUROPE where they are made...
Electronics and Appliances cost a fortune in NEW ZEALAND where everything is imported...
The US decided to give up on it's factories but in exchange our money goes further here than in any other country I know.
Long story short, you will definitely pay less for things MADE IN BRAZIL over IMPORTS but never as cheap as they are in the US.
Ray
Yeah - like Ray said....
If you have a friend coming from the US, ask them to wear a pair of fancy sneakers to give to you.
Protectionist import policies are expensive for the country's residents - no question.
don't own any - I am a not over 50 USD shoe person myself. but I do get requests from the grand kids to bring back tennis shoes (course not only for tennis anymore) because what I can buy for 100+ costs 650+ in Rio. The 20 USD tennis in the USA are about R$160.00 here. but they only last about 6 months basically the soles wear out and the top surface falls apart. if you are going to force 60% (the poor) of your 200 million market to buy your home made items then force some quality control. And the high costs here are directly attributable to the high labor / cost of doing business taxes that are imposed to offset that same 60% do not pay income taxes but still need city streets and services. So if you want any level of quality Pay baby pay.
sorry another point. when I lived in the USA I bought Italian and BRAZILIAN shoe because they are the best.... made and materials.... so where are these shoes in BRAZIL? not they export the best.... does that make any sense to you?
Dear Ginger,
You can find those high end shoes at factory prices at this store in Sao Paulo.
I don't know if they have an equivalent in Rio, but if not, it is probably worth the trip to Sao Paulo to visit Shoestock, here is there website, they are sort of a factory outlet store:
http://www.shoestock.com.br/ch/index.aspx
Dear Ginger,
I totally agree with you, the consumer in Brazil ends up paying a high price for products that suffer high taxation to cover several different costs, including governament ineficiency, poor road conditions, high employees benefits etc...
I remember cars used to be a lot better in Brazil in the 70's and even 80's.
The material used in clothing used to be of superior quality as well but for some reason the Korean and Chinese imports were
allowed in during the 90's which drove the higher quality Brazilian textile factories out of business and now you see what you see.
I had to buy a shirt for Gil 6 months ago in Sao Paulo and couldn't believe the price/quality we had to deal with...American Airlines had lost our luggage...long story short...
Ray
Ray
The Nile corporation probably will never open a store in Brazil because pays it's workers cents per hour. It would rather pay the high taxes here, because a lot of countries don't face this. And in the end consumers pay the taxes, driving their demand up in Brazil. Nike is a status symbol.
I HATE most name brand shoe companies in the US because of the labor rights. I love Melissa in Brazil. I have no idea how their company works but I buy Brazilian shoes.
Thanks for you post about high end shoes at a good price. I went to the Nike store at Shopping Dom Pedro and all the men's Nike were so ugly it was crazy. There were some cute women's shoes that I liked (if I wore Nike_.
Dear Nina,
I am glad you enjoyed it, I was never a big fan of sneakers but our life style close to the beach in New England made me start liking sneakers better...
We are always taking our dog to the beach and I can just throw the sneaker in the washer and clorox and hot water and they are new again, so they are very practical for us, but I will never pay too much for a pair.
I have bought sneakers at Payless shoes before, they are around 10 dollars a pair but come a part to quickly...so I buy whatever Sam's carries.
Not a big fan of name brand either but I do hunt for high quality and sometimes you just have to go with that name brand.
Shoestock has actually very good options and their prices compare with the good quality stuff from the US.
Thanks for your comment!
Merry Christmas
Ray
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