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Bajatripper
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RIP, CCC
This past week, the ownership of CCC (Centro Comercial Californiano) changed from the Ruffo Family to the Chedraui brand, a grocery store chain from
the mainland (like Soriana and Ley). The Ruffos are a local family with roots dating back to the mid-1800s, when the patriarch, the first Don Antonio
Ruffo, arrived on the local scene and quickly established the family fortune in the pearl industry before moving on to commerce. The Perla de La
Paz--the old mercantile house that burned down three-four years ago--was also of the Ruffos.
While the evidence of this change is hard to detect (the three regional stores still carry the "CCC" name), for native Sudcalifornianos it is a
dramatic one. On a couple of sites, I've read some heated exchanges between native born locals and recent arrivals on just what this change
represents. Natives are sorry to see them go and will miss the service and selection they provided while mainlanders favor the competition, think the
CCCs were for rich people, and don't see what all the fuss is about.
The first CCC, at Bravo and Isabel La Catolica, opened in 1969 as the Ruffos' unseated the Mercado Aramburo on Madero and Hidalgo (the place with the
cow aloft) as the largest (and only) grocery store south of Ensenada.
For thirty years, the CCC had the "supermarket market" all to itself in BCS (Aramburo was always a cross between a "Mexican market" and a U.S.-styled
grocery store, even selling gasoline during the 1950s-60s). Local politics blocked the entry of competition into the state. Local commerce still had
the political clout to make that happen. But as tourism has become the dominant (legal) economic force in the state, political control has been
shifting towards Los Cabos (where our current governor is from) and new faces.
Ten years ago, the door was opened to grocery store chains from the mainland. Officially, the reason given was that it would benefit the local
population (which is increasingly from the mainland). But there were those who suspected that another reason could have been to help trim some of the
Ruffo influence in local politics.
Ironically, in the last couple of years the Ruffos have spent over 200 million pesos in renovations of their business empire (which still include
three or more local businesses).
One of the things that the CCC has been known for is its variety of foreign goods, which simply can't be found anywhere else (who else carries English
muffins?).
The new owners have said that they will continue to exploit this market. Lets hope so, or nobody will miss the old CCCs more than the local community
of Americans and Canadians.
I, for one, am sorry to see them go.
Steve G
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David K
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Thanks Steve... very interesting! 
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Hook
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I often read, with envy, the items that were carried by the CCCs. For your sake, I hope it doesnt change much.
Do you know what chain on the mainland this new ownership family operates? Santa Fe, by any chance?
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Bajatripper
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
I often read, with envy, the items that were carried by the CCCs. For your sake, I hope it doesnt change much.
Do you know what chain on the mainland this new ownership family operates? Santa Fe, by any chance? |
Chedraui is the name of the chain. They were first established in Veracruz, if memory serves me still.
Steve G
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comitan
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I am not happy with this I had over 1600 pesos in points earned I may have lost them.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Bajahowodd
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On one level, this appears to be nothing more than what has been happening in the US for decades. It's called capitalism.
My other point was that from my perspective, the BCS marketplace was held captive for way too long by their first governor, Aramburo. As memory serves
me, it was CCC that was the pioneer in breaking Aramburo's monopoly on the BCS supermarket industry.
In a similar vein, a very popular dry goods store named Dorian's, that had just a few stores in the Northwest of Mexico, was gobbled up by Sr. Slim's
conglomerate, and recently renamed Sears. I really had to chuckle at that turn of events, because, although I'm certain that integrating brands
results in cost savings, from a US perspective, Dorian's was more akin to Nordstrom than it was to Sears. Today, in the US, who shops at Sears???
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oldlady
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Thanks for the history. I've enjoyed CCC. My experience has always been a good one. They marketed well to foreigners both in their customer service
department and in their responsiveness to obtain specific products when they had their suggestion box.
The economies of scale (large inventory and compettive pricing) do favor a well run large store or chain. On the other hand, our local "corner
market" always amazes with the amount and variety of inventory they have in a space that is not as big as Wal-Mart's produce section. They even have a
small butcher counter and Russet type potatoes(which I have never seen in the big stores)! Mom is gracious, Dad has a ribald humor and their 11 year
old son would put most kids north of the border to shame with his speed on a paper tape calculator and in making change.
My trips to town have grown fewer....'cept when I am hungry for an English Muffin.
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oladulce
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Thanks for posting the history Bajatripper.
The 2 stores in our local pueblo are about the size of a quarter of an aisle at CCC and supplies and variety are very limited. Friends say there are
definitely items available at CCC that you can't find anywhere else. Our first time in a CCC was recently and we were with a couple of fellow nomadas
as a matter of fact.
We were walking around wide-eyed, taking in all the stuff that was available on our first shopping trip in La Paz and a man walks by and whispers to
all of us, " if you're looking for the pickles, they're right over there", as if this was the last pickle stronghold on the continent. We didn't need
any pickles but gave him a thumbs-up and replied " "Hey, thanks man" for sharing his secret spot.
I haven't been shopping in BCS long enough to know what I'll be missing from CCC, but I get the impression it will be missed by many.
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JESSE
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Prices are up in almost all departments at the new Chedraui, service has gone south, and the time you spent at the checkout counters has doubled.
I personally used to be a good customer of CCC, but i am reducing all my business to a few products i can't find anywhere else.
In my opinion, they are loosing customers at an alarming rate, and by the time they realize this, it will be too late.
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tiotomasbcs
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Plochman's mustard, Annie's, Vlassic pickles, etc. I love CCC. Loved??! Their Produce has always been excellent, too. They never could figure out
how to list the correct prices on the shelves, tho!! Beefeaters! !! Ouch!
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BajaBlanca
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we here in la bocana are really lucky, our local coop mini market carries many costco items  )))))
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longlegsinlapaz
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| Quote: | Originally posted by comitan
I am not happy with this I had over 1600 pesos in points earned I may have lost them. |
Yup Comitan....you've lost your points....or at minimum, the flexibility to use them in the variety of ways formerly available to you. Purportedly, Chedraui's method is that you still earn points for purchases,
HOWEVER, those points will only be credited against periodic "in-store (Blue-Light) Specials"....which can't be true because the same
guy told me they'd only ask for the Chedraui card IF YOU HAPPEN TO BUY A DESIGNATED PERIODIC "In-store (Blue-Light) Special" item!
There's a special desk (NOT the Customer Service Desk) in the Colima store where an English-speaking guy trades out your CCC card for a Chedraui card
& they give you a paper with your CCC points balance to take to the cashier to transfer your formerly easily redeemable points to the Chedraui
card. The guy could not tell me whether the full balance could be applied to these special items, or only a portion of the amount. The fact that he
went to great lengths to explain to me they will not be scanning the Chedraui card each time through the register tells me that future purchases do
not earn further points/credit/nada.
The individual I spoke with said he had no idea whether or not Chedraui plans to maintain current stocking policies for imported items. My personal
concern is that CCC is THE ONLY store in BCS who carries imported perishable U.S. dairy products....milk, sour cream, cottage cheese,
etc. & from the quantities of these items that CCC's been stalking for the past 11 years, I'm not the only person who
depends on the availability of these items.
I've only made one trip in since the change, few customers were in the store & I had to ask the cashier if she could please interrupt the gab fest
with another cashier & 3 baggers long enough to turn on the moving counter so I could finish unloading my cart....& since I had her attention
if I could possibly impose on her to start to ringing up my purchases.
Prices are higher. My jury is still out, but if they don't continue stocking imported dairy products, I might as well save gas & shop at Walmart.
I think it might be too soon to determine how responsive they're going to be to public requests regarding stocking policies & customer service
concerns.
I'm in mourning for the old CCC!
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajatripper
On a couple of sites, I've read some heated exchanges |
What sites would those be?
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Bajatripper
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajatripper
On a couple of sites, I've read some heated exchanges |
What sites would those be? |
Here are some:
http://colectivopericu.wordpress.com/2010/5/29/oficial-chedr...
http://peninsulardigital.com/mas/extra/la-operacion-de-chedr...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yo-tampoco-quiero-que-cambien-...
for an interesting recap of Chedraui history, try here:
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsudcaliforniano/notas/n1657142.htm
I hope this will be of help,
Steve G
PS
If they fail to function, get back to me so I can find where the typo is, my old eyes fail me sometimes anymore.
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DENNIS
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Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that.
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bajajazz
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We are curious as to the Ruffo's motivation to sell CCC, after going to such strenuous, expensive and seemingly successful efforts to meet the
competition introduced into the La Paz marketing area by the Ley, Soriana and Walmart chain operations?
We wonder if their decision to sell was predicated on an awareness of some bad economic news that's coming down the road, or was it merely that they
received an offer too good to refuse?
Since CCC was a privately-held company, the decision to sell was obviously elective and it seems strange that they'd sell after investing so much
time, energy and money in expanding and improving their operation.
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Bajatripper
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajazz
We are curious as to the Ruffo's motivation to sell CCC, after going to such strenuous, expensive and seemingly successful efforts to meet the
competition introduced into the La Paz marketing area by the Ley, Soriana and Walmart chain operations?
We wonder if their decision to sell was predicated on an awareness of some bad economic news that's coming down the road, or was it merely that they
received an offer too good to refuse?
Since CCC was a privately-held company, the decision to sell was obviously elective and it seems strange that they'd sell after investing so much
time, energy and money in expanding and improving their operation. |
From other sources on the Internet, the predominant wisdom seems to be that the death of don Agustin Ruffo Azcona last August brought to an end that
generation's influence in matters pertaining to the Ruffo empire. The new generation is known to have its infighting and without a clan elder to
moderate, conflict has been the result.
So, adding family conflict to hard economic times, competition from Soriana's, Ley, and Walmart, taking on that 263 million peso expense to remodel
their businesses just before the world economy tanked, as well as the loss of all income from the old Perla de La Paz when that business burnt to the
ground in Oct of 2006, here we are.
Contrary to many of the statements that have been made by the new owners, much is changing at Chedraui under the new management. Rumor has it (I don't
know anyone personaly who has been affected) they are cashiering out the workers of the CCC and bringing in new personnel willing to work for less.
Many here, and elsewhere, have mentioned the good service provided as one of CCC's chief assets. That isn't likely to remain the case if wages are
driven down.
Jesse mentioned the conflict that exists between workers from the mainland and workers native to the region in his post under Home Depo.
Sudcalifornianos have a rich historic reputation for "wanting high wages for little work" (don't we all?). Francisco Aramburo--a noted local author
and former newspaperman with deep family roots--notes the same thing in his book on Sudcaliforniano culture.
That said, one could make the argument (as Sudcalifornianos often do) that it isn't that they are inherently lazy, it's just that they know what a
day's labor is worth in such a far-off, isolated place as Baja has been throughout most of its history. (One could relate this to what people make at
such places as Alaska in our own country.)
That approach worked for a long time, since its lack of major industries kept it off the beaten path of the mobile world work force. But once you have
government-sponsored tourism resorts springing up, you generate the magnet that pulls people with greater hunger than what has traditionally been
experienced in this place (BCS). [Which, incidentally, was part of the federal government's plan when the original five resorts were conceived in the
late 1960s; the ideal was a beach location with a low population base where the excess labor force in the nation's interior could go to live and
work.]
The Ruffos' have a long tradition of hiring local people, and that may have been another part of their problem. To compete with the business model
practiced at Walmart, Ley and Soriana's, they would have had to drastically lower their salaries (I'm just repeating what I've heard, so don't be too
hard on me if I'm way off base and it turns out that Walmart pays more than CCC did). Being in the Sudcaliforniano family, so to speak, perhaps they
didn't have the stomach for it.
Now we will get to experience some of the work ethics and business savvy of the people from the mainland that I've heard so much about.
Just some observations and ramblings of a long-time observer of things Sudcaliforniano.
Steve G
[Edited on 6-13-2010 by Bajatripper]
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vandenberg
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Great post Steve, Thanks !!
We come, from Loreto, about 5 to 6 times a year to La Paz and have found CCC our favorite store. When Ley's first opened, we did some business there,
but that store rapidly deteriorated. Soriana's does a little better, but their prices seem high. Last few times there, we shopped at all 3 Aramburo
stores and, contrary to 4 to 5 years ago, were quite satisfied. Good meat prices (Sonoran) especially. Plus, their main store has been cleaned up and
is much more appealing. And the guys at the Meat counter at the "cow" store are a delight to be served by. Couldn't be more accommodating.
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Bajahowodd
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Anyone note the irony of Baja having been the bastard step-child of Mexico for so many years, now becoming integrated with the mainland on so many
levels? I'm sure I will get complaints about my use of terms, but the fact is that compared to the mainland, Baja was always an outpost. Think of the
Frontera license plates, for instance. Maybe the fact that Baja was just a little bit different than the mainland was a feature that attracted many of
you enthusiasts. I'm just guessing, but what with the immense growth of tourism, in particular, especially in BCS, money is to made there. Hence, mom
and pop, of family owned businesses will continue to encounter immense pressure from the "big guys" on the mainland.
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DENNIS
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Baja was and probably still is called "The Provinces" by mainlanders...especially those in DF.
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