Geographic Dynamics of the Supermarket Sector in Brasília (DF)

Abstract

The commercialization of food in cities is increasingly influenced by the presence of supermarket chains, which are self-service retail establishments with a predominance of food products. The agile, efficient, and low-cost marketing model was the one that was most strengthened in the context of the urbanization of society. In Brazil, there are few studies that seek to contextualize the performance of retail capital in other urban centers located outside the southeastern region of the country. This article aims to analyze the geographic dynamics of the supermarket sector in Brasília - DF through the understanding of the multi-scale performance of chains in the territory according to their capital origin, location strategies, and establishment profiles. The methodology consisted inof the production and systematization of information about the supermarket sector through the quantitative and qualitative evolution of establishments linked to the Associação de Supermercados de Brasília (ASBRA). As a result of this research, one can to locate the world’s main retail chains in Brasilia, which demonstrates the importance of the country’s capital as a consumption space in the globalized economy. The selective use of the territory by the different retail chains enabled the adoption of differentiated actions, dependent on the income pattern of each administrative region of the city. The research contributed to evidence the heterogeneity of the sector and the conformation of commercial strategies adapted to the geographic reality marked by structural socio-spatial inequality.

Keywords:
Food retail; Territorial strategies; Distrito Federal