Chinese wholesale supermarket debuts in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO - The first Chinese wholesale store opened last Friday in Rio de Janeiro.

The ChinaTown Atacado supermarket is the first wholesale warehouse founded and run by Chinese immigrants in the second largest city of Brazil.

Located near the Rio de Janeiro International Airport, the giant supermarket has over 10,000 square meters of trade area, in which it sells electronics, toys, stationery, bags and other accessories.

"We have tens of thousands of varieties," said its shareholders.

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"I am very happy, satisfied and proud to see the ChinaTown Atacado open," Li Yanjun, deputy consul general of China in Rio de Janeiro, said at the opening ceremony.

"I'm even more pleased to see Chinese in Brazil are able to achieve success by complying with local laws and living in harmony with local people," he said. "I hope every overseas Chinese will accomplish more."

Rio de Janeiro welcomes more Chinese investment, said Alexandre Cardoso, mayor of the city, adding Chinese goods are no longer synonymous with poor quality and cheap price.

"From the preparation for the opening of the supermarket, I saw the diligent and pioneering spirit in many of the Chinese immigrants here," the mayor said.

Many shareholders of the ChinaTown Atacado belong to the same family, the Yin's, from Qingtian county in East China's Zhejiang province.

Yin Xiaomin, a major shareholder of the store, moved to Brazil 27 years ago, and is engaged in import and export trade between China and Brazil, from which he made his fortune.

The supermarket combines the functions of a wholesale store, a consulting agency, and a logistics and distribution base in one. It aims to provide one-stop consulting services for Chinese manufacturers wishing to access the Brazilian market, Yin told Xinhua.

It is hoped such a comprehensive platform can provide more opportunities for Chinese goods to enter the Brazilian market rapidly and smoothly, without any bureaucracy problems they once ran into, said Yin Xiangcong, Yin Xiaomin's elder brother, who is also a successful businessman in the city.

The supermarket is located in Duque de Caxias, a satellite city of Rio de Janeiro, which aims to become a logistical base for Rio de Janeiro, host city of both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.