The Peso Is Down, But One Border Businessman Is Staying Positive

This isn’t the first time his store has been impacted by a peso devaluation.

By Michael MarksFebruary 3, 2017 11:55 am,

The value of the Mexican peso has plunged over the past few months. As of Friday morning, one peso was worth less than five cents – close to an all-time low.

The drop has been fueled in part by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric around immigration and refashioning trade deals. But the drop in value doesn’t just affect the Mexican economy. Many businesses on the Texas side of the border rely on Mexican nationals to come spend their pesos there.

Suresh Mansinghani owns Perfume King in downtown McAllen, where he’s been in business for 35 years. He sells retail and wholesale perfumes and says that 95 percent of his target customer base is from Mexico.

Since the peso has dropped, Mansinghani says business is a little bit slow, but it usually is this time of year between the Christmas holiday and Valentine’s Day, when sales pick back up.

“I experienced a little drop in sales – about 25 percent – which is normal when peso devalues,” he says. “But things are coming back again.”

Mansinghani says this is the 10th peso devaluation he’s gone through since opening up his business in the 1980s. He says he’s an optimist.

“I think things are going to be fine and everything is going to get back to normal,” he says. “It’s just a matter of time.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– What the peso devaluation means for purchasing power

– Why Mansinghani is staying positive about the peso’s value

Written by Beth Cortez-Neavel.