Os supermercados e o pequeno comércio: transformações e resistências numa cidade média do nordeste brasileiro Sobral - Ceará

Abstract

This article discusses the changes that supermarkets have been giving rise to in urban Sobral, a medium-sized city located in Northeast Brazil. In Sobral, the process of intra-urban restructuring has been largely driven by the relocation of tertiary activities away from the traditional centre and by the creation of new centralities in the neighborhoods where supermarkets have opened their doors. These new centralities have increased the level of segregation between the rich and the poor, as well as between their respective residential and consumption spaces in the city. In addition to this, supermarkets have also significantly increased the degree of competition faced by small retail, and caused the latter to experience a considerable drop in sales in recent times. Still, small retailers consider that the arrival of large-scale retail outlets in the city is inevitable, and that their only option is to pursue strategies and look for forms of support that will enable them to overcome their competition and ensure their livelihood.