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Retailers may have suffered losses of R$ 700 million.

The estimate comes from Daniel Plá, a retail professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation; the calculation considers the early closure of stores and the end of workers' shifts, which ultimately affects consumption, but does not include losses caused by vandalism during the protests.

Retailers may have suffered losses of R$ 700 million.

Alana Gandra
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Rio de Janeiro - The demonstrations that took place yesterday (20) in dozens of cities may have caused losses of R$ 700 million to the trade sector in the country, according to an estimate by the retail professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas, Daniel Plá. The economist told Agência Brasil that the calculation considers the early closure of stores and the work of workers, which ends up reflecting on consumption.

The economist assessed that the estimated figures are quite conservative, because they do not include losses caused by vandalism in commercial establishments.

In Rio de Janeiro alone, losses are estimated by Daniel Plá at over R$100 million. The most affected region in the city of Rio was the city center, which saw a 50% drop in expected daily revenue. "The shopping malls were empty yesterday afternoon," said the professor. "People stopped going shopping, partly due to the affected collective unconscious."

According to the economist, the announced movement led many people to avoid going out or to return home earlier. "This affects commerce as a whole. It's a real catastrophe," he assessed. He pointed out that, despite these losses, "nobody talks about the economic impact" that these demonstrations cause.

In the area of ​​the Society of Friends of the Vicinity of Rua da Alfândega (Saara), in downtown Rio de Janeiro, considered the largest open-air shopping center in the state, stores that sell merchandise with the colors of the Brazilian flag, such as masks, horns, and hats, for example, managed to sell their stock.

Daniel Plá warned, however, that this does not compensate for the losses suffered by the shops in Saara. "We're talking about less than 10% of the shopkeepers [in the region]. It's a very specific thing and a particular type of merchandise," he concluded.
Edited by: Davi Oliveira