Some Argentines had tented outdoors for the night after taking buses from nearby cities. Many others had arrived at a Buenos Aires parking lot early in the morning and formed a queue, a six-block stretch of determined people with puffy eyes.
The folks in line were waiting to be among the first to enter a low-cost sporting goods store, not to see a pope, a monarch, or Taylor Swift.
After President Javier Milei's trade liberalization policies made it easier to import foreign goods, Decathlon, a midrange French fitness-gear giant, just launched its first megastore in Argentina.
The arrival of the sportswear equivalent of Ikea was seen by many Argentines as a sign of their delayed entry into the global consuming machine, as decades of costly tariffs had stifled their material dreams.
Fernanda Pedre, a client, remarked, "It's a new beginning," as she piled Lycra shirts into a shopping basket. "We are getting closer to the world," Marcelo Monje added.
Argentina imposed extensive trade restrictions for many years in order to safeguard its own industries. When middle-class Argentines traveled overseas, they would return with suitcases full of items that are readily available in much of the industrialized world, such as jars of pesto, printer cartridges, and leggings.
Milei, a fervent advocate of free-trade capitalism, has started to remove some trade restrictions since taking office two years ago.
This has allowed shiploads of T-shirts from Chinese fast-fashion online retailers Shein or Temu, additional products from Amazon, and lingerie from Victoria's Secret, which debuted its first flagship store in Buenos Aires in November.
Argentine producers have suffered a decline in sales as a result of the global assault, and some local companies have shut down.
This has sparked a national discussion about the benefits of opening up at a time when President Donald Trump, Milei's most influential supporter, is doing the exact opposite by enacting broad tariffs on US trading partners, including some Argentine goods.
"The world's most powerful nation is embracing protectionism, and Argentina is opening up indiscriminately," stated veteran Argentine legislator Miguel Ángel Pichetto, who is against economic liberalization. "It doesn't work."
In defense of his ideas, Milei has referred to protectionism as an unsustainable "scam" and said that jobs in noncompetitive industries will eventually be transferred to more efficient ones in an open economy.
Argentina was particularly isolated at first, and pricey imports were a luxury mostly enjoyed by the wealthy. Argentines do not benefit from the same low costs at chains as consumers in other nations, and some trade obstacles still exist.
Argentina's Zara stores continue to offer some of the brand's highest pricing worldwide. Argentines would pay "personal shoppers" to purchase computers or phones overseas, while "Premium Outlets" in Buenos Aires sell H&M, Primark, and Pull & Bear clothing at significantly higher prices than in the US or Europe.
Federica Bianchi, a 24-year-old teacher, claimed that she stocked up on a few years' worth of clothes during two trips to the United States years ago.
However, Bianchi, like many Argentines, started making purchases online on Shein after Milei slashed levies, eliminated customs red tape, and raised the allowable weight and cost of bulk shipments.
"We never had this here before," she remarked as she displayed tops, light floral dresses, and four iPhone covers that she had purchased for a few dollars on the Chinese marketplace.
Previously, she stated, "It was like, I have to buy it because I need it, and it's super expensive, but oh, well, I need some jeans." She explained that she was thinking, "OK, I'll buy it, I might use it sometime."
Experts claim that Argentina's middle class, which is often well-educated and has a close cultural and historical connection to Europe, has always been consumerist. However, it has been released by the sudden availability of less expensive imports.
"It's like opening a Disneyland," Argentine consumer analyst Guillermo Oliveto remarked. "They can eat all the candies that they want."
Consumer goods imports had increased by 62% from the previous year by October. Product imports, including delivery from e-commerce websites, increased by more than 200% during the same ten-month period.
New brands and shopping apps become popular on Instagram, in WhatsApp discussions, and in gym classes. A pop-up Cheesecake Factory store, an American brand, was launched by a local importer in a hip Buenos Aires mall in September. For $9 servings of cake, Argentines waited in line.
Customers gazed at windbreakers as though they were fine couture at the Decathlon opening last month. The gathering outside may have been partially explained by the gift cards Decathlon employees were giving to the first customers in line, even if the items were still more expensive than in the chain's European locations.
Still, excited customers lined up throughout the length of the expansive store at the cashier. According to Sabine Mulliez, one of the proprietors, sleeping bags and water bottles were more than just camping supplies. Mulliez, who comes from one of the wealthiest families in France, stated, "More than selling clothes, we are bringing hope."
Some of the largest winners of the consumption frenzy are the Chinese websites Shein and Temu, which provide free shipping for deliveries to other parts of the world, notwithstanding the French retail liberation at Decathlon.
Over the past year, the total value of consumer items sent from China has doubled. At the debut of a new store in Buenos Aires that resold Shein clothing from earlier collections, patrons frantically combed through plastic bags one evening.
Even as Argentina and the United States enjoy a financial honeymoon, Argentines are placing an increasing number of orders for Chinese goods.
A framework for a trade agreement was recently reached between the two nations, and the United States gave Argentina a $20 billion financial lifeline in an attempt to undercut China's influence and increase American power in the area.
The owner of the Shein resale store, Camila Di Cesare, 33, stated, "Everyone is asking for Shein." She went on to say that these companies "are breaking the market."
Those being broken included Luciano Galfione, the proprietor of an Argentine manufacturer of synthetic yarn and textiles a few miles distant.
Galfione said, "Shein and Temu beat us hands down," as he passed hundreds of large rolls of plastic-wrapped fabric piled on top of each other. "They're impossible to compete against."
According to Galfione, his family's 75-year-old factory was only operating at 20% of its potential, compared to 80% in 2023. He recently let go of 25% of his staff and said that half of them had very little to do.
Pro Tejer is a local organization that represents the textile business, and Galfione, its president, is by no means alone. According to Pro Tejer, the Argentine textile industry has lost almost 12,000 jobs in the last year due to a roughly 20% decline in production and a 95% increase in clothing imports.
In an effort to safeguard domestic businesses, Pichetto, the legislator, is promoting a bill that would tax and control e-commerce platforms. Other nations, like Chile and Mexico, have also levied duties on shipments due to the region's surge in purchases from Chinese businesses.
Pichetto stated that although consumers might not be willing to pay more, thousands of domestic businesses had closed in the previous two years, and "the day that there is no more work there is no more consumption."
Some experts claim that the removal of trade restrictions comes at a difficult time for domestic producers, despite the fact that many Argentines believe the country needed to open up to provide access to foreign goods at fair costs.
For local businesses, taxes and other expenses are significant. Foreign goods became more accessible due to lower trade barriers and changes in exchange-rate policy, but Argentine-made items were more expensive.
"The government is opening up with no parachute," stated Daniel Schteingart, a director at the Buenos Aires research organization Fundar. Milei appears unconcerned.
He recently posted a screenshot from Temu that showed Milei-themed goods for sale, including caps bearing his tagline, "There is no money," which serves as a rallying cry against government expenditures.
