Chinese products invade Christmas decoration shelves

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In Saara, in the Center, one of the stores that offers a wide variety of decorations, from large structures, such as reindeer and Santa’s boxes, to smaller items, such as cans and themed ribbons, is Vivian Festas.

Marta Barros, 48, is the store’s visual merchandising manager and always works with festive dates. According to her, one of the new products this year is the Disney collection, a set of pieces, mugs and decorative objects featuring Mickey and Minnie on the Christmas theme, with red and green clothes. The kit attracts the attention of everyone who passes by the shelves and many items are already sold out.

She says that today, about 80 percent of the store’s products are imported from China, which guarantees lower prices.

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— This year, Vivian (store owner) went straight to the source. She went to China and personally chose each product she wanted to bring. She always had contact with a Chinese supplier, but this time it was different because she chose every detail, says Marta.

The strategy worked. The decorations went on sale in August and almost everything has already sold out. Larger structures, such as reindeer, cost around R$2,000, while smaller items, such as decorative LED gift boxes, cost from R$200.

There are also decorative cans, nutcrackers, candy canes and other ornaments usually found this time of year.

Last Thursday, customer Sara Maria Gomes, 60, was looking for items to decorate her home and get into the Christmas spirit.

— I buy a lot of things here. I decided to stop by today and check out what’s new.

At Americanas, 350 containers from abroad

At Americanas at Shopping Rio Sul, in the southern area of ​​Rio, most of the decorative items are also imported. This year, 350 containers were imported from abroad, the majority from China, to increase the volume and variety of Christmas products in the brand’s stores.

The purchases were made in the first half, already reflecting the effects of tariffs, since Trump announced the increase in tariffs on China in April. The trend is that imported products continue to dominate the shelves with the trade war in effect, with Chinese products being shipped to other countries.

What sold the most, according to sellers, were Christmas trees and light garlands.

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At Mercadão de Madureira, in the North zone, you will find good decoration options. In the Bazar Shopping Alegria store, one of the differences is a more reinforced type of flashing, called an armored LED pipe or chain.

In addition to being apparently thicker due to the fact that the LED wires are encapsulated in a thicker material, the item is resistant to shock, humidity and climatic variations, making it more durable.

Sheila Santana, 42, was looking for just this type of product.

— At home, my sister doesn’t even remove this flashing light from the wall, it’s for another year. These are good, they don’t spoil. My mother also has one that sticks to the wall and stays in place all year round, explains Sheila.

At Juju, also at Mercadão, you can find bows, Christmas socks, Santa hats and decorated baubles. Cláudia Santos, 51, took advantage of last Thursday morning to look for decorative items for her Christmas tree.

— I want to put everything in gold, with a bow, because it’s my family, my daughter-in-law, my grandson, so I want something different to welcome them — he said.

With the home stretch of purchases, many stores are already reporting stocks close to the limit, particularly for imported items. For those who still want to decorate their home or take advantage of the most competitive deals, retailers recommend not leaving it until the last minute. The sector expects the movement to continue with intensity until Christmas Eve.