Money and shopping

 

Relevant clothing stores of Quevedo

In my city, there are some clothing stores, but the ones that stand out the most in quality of materials and price offers are:

1. Marathon sport
2. Almacenes "Normita"
3. Alby Store
4. Almacenes "Derick"

The purpose of this blog is to detail the advantages and disadvantages of buying in each of them, the history of these commercial premises and the offers they offer.

Marathon Sport

This clothing store is located inside a shopping center that opened in my city on December 4, 2012. It is located within “El Paseo Shopping Quevedo” so there are frequent customers thanks to its location.

Bargains

The good thing about this place is that there are always offers in any season of the year. There are many offers on various products such as shirts, caps, shoes, backpacks, and accessories. They also offer many promotions on holidays such as Valentine's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Children's Day, Halloween, and Christmas.

Advantage

1.  Top quality products
2. Security when buying
3.  Varieties of products for all ages and genders
4. You can buy directly on the premises or online

Disadvantages

1. The products have very high prices
2.  It is a very small place compared to the warehouse located in Guayaquil

 

Almacenes "Normita"

This clothing store is one of the oldest in my city and is located downtown. It was founded more than 20 years ago and since then it has undergone great changes. Nowadays they not only sell clothes but also bazaar supplies.

Bargains

Throughout the year, offers are made in this store, great discounts on all products, especially at festive times when families tend to buy more clothes. There are generally discounts of up to 70% on clothing and footwear.

On many occasions, this store offers frequent customers a variety of exclusive promotions and gifts. So, it encourages people to buy more often at the store.

Advantage

1. Good quality products
2. Good customer service
3.  Returns in case of defects
4. You can try on clothes before buying them

Disadvantages

1. Better quality clothes do not usually drop in price
2.  Lack of variety of clothing brands

 

Alby Store

It is a clothing and footwear store very similar to Marathon Sport and is also located in “El Paseo Shopping Quevedo”. It is located on the ground floor very close to the entrance of the shopping center so that people can approach and observe everything that it offers more easily.

Bargains

The offers are very similar to those offered by other clothing stores, whether in children's or adult clothes. They offer different discounts and promotions throughout the year for winter and summer clothes and on holidays. Discounts are usually up to 70% when the garments fail to sell.

Advantage

1. You can find clothes of all kinds, from a low quality with a lower price, to high-quality garments.
2. They constantly make discounts on clothes that cannot be sold
3.  Good customer service

Disadvantages

1.  Clothes are often damaged due to many people trying on the same clothes
2.  As in Marathon Sport, the store is very small compared to the same stores located in larger cities, so there is not much variety of clothing

 

Almacenes “Derick”

This clothing store has been in business for about five years and has had very good growth in recent years. It started as a small tailor shop, but by increasing sales volume they were able to expand the business to become what it is today.

Bargains

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, this store used to make many offers, especially at Christmas. Promotions used to be so tentative that items of clothing sold out quickly. However, when the pandemic began, sales fell excessively, which almost led to the bankruptcy of the premises. Currently, they have had an increase in sales, but they no longer make offers very often.

Advantage

1.  Being a tailor shop, you can have your clothes made to your liking
2. Customer service is excellent
3.  Christmas discounts are usually very tentative

Disadvantages

1.  They have a shortage of employees, so paying is usually very slow.
2. They no longer make frequent discounts due to the pandemic
3. They only accept cash payments

Personal experience

About 3 years ago I earned money working on a farm, I had around $60 with me and while walking through the center of the city I decided to enter the “Normita” Warehouse. I used to go in there from time to time, but I never bought anything because I was always out of money.

Just that day I saw some shoes that I loved, I asked about the size, and it was just right for me, but they were worth $90 so unfortunately, I couldn't buy them. A few days later I charged another $60, and I still hadn't spent my old money, so I decided to go back to the store to check if the shoes were still there.

It turns out that that day was Father's Day so there were a lot of promotions. When I went to see the shoes, what a surprise I took, they were 50% off and just for that day for more than $40 in purchases they gave a 20% discount on accessories for dad. When the shoes cost me $45, I used the other promotion and bought my dad a watch. In the end, I ended up paying just $70 total so if I had had the $90 on that occasion, I would have wasted a lot of money.

From that day on, I always try not to rush into buying something because it is more convenient to take advantage of the discounts on holidays.

Vocabulary

1.- Coupon: A sheet of paper that can be used to get something without paying for it.

Example: For the purchase of these shoes, they gave me this discount coupon.

2.- Credit card: a small plastic card that can be used as a payment method.

Example: I don't have cash either, but if you want, I can lend you my credit card.

3.- Checkout: Where you pay for your products.

Example: I want to pay but there is no one at the checkout.

4.- Cheap: It costs little money or less than usual or expected.

Example: On holidays you can get cheap clothes.

5.- Cash: Money in the form of bills and coins.

Example: I do not bring cash; can you lend me?

6.- Expensive: it costs a lot of money.

Example: In this store everything you buy is expensive.

7.- Receipt: This is a sheet of paper that you receive from someone as proof that they have received money or property from you.

Example: I just noticed that they didn't give me a receipt for my clothes.

8.- Discount: Reduction of the usual price of a product.

Example: There is no discount for all clothing items. 

9.- Special offer: a product that is sold at a lower price than usual to encourage people to buy.

Example: At every Christmas, the clothes have a special offer. 

10.- Refund: An amount of money that is returned to you, especially because you are not satisfied with a product or service that you have purchased.

Example: This shirt was damaged; I want a refund.

11.- Price: the amount of money for which something is sold.

Example: My cousin told me that the price of this shirt is not very high.