Pulse News Mexico photo/Thérèse Margolis

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

For a group of wives of international diplomats accredited in Mexico and their friends, the Buen Fin weekend — Mexico’s answer to Black Friday super-sales — came early this year with an exclusive by-invitation-only preview of select designer items at the Punta Norte Premium Outlets shopping mall on Monday, Nov. 13.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Mayiya Rigail de McGuiness, wife of Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Mexico Mark McGuiness, and Punta Norte marketing and business development manager Carolina Juárez, the ladies were provided a specially escorted tour of the mall and one-of-a-kind discounts on items from a slew of major national and international designers a full four days before the nationwide shopping extravaganza is set to begin on Friday, Nov. 17.

Upon arrival at Punta Norte on Monday morning, the diplomatic wives and their friends were welcomed by a delicious brunch and courtesy gift boxes from L’Occitane, as well as deep discounts in select stores with prices as low as 90-percent off.

Buen Fin, which inevitably falls in late November and is linked to Mexico’s Nov. 20 Revolution Day, usually coincides with the United States’ Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

This year’s four-day, Buen Fin, get-ready-for-Christmas shopping extravaganza will run through Monday, Nov. 21 and will include special savings on everything from clothing and household goods to vacation packages and credit card discounts.

More than 200,000 businesses across Mexico are expected to participate.

According to government estimates, the event is expected to bring in about 141 billion pesos in sales for small- and medium-sized businesses, both through in-person and online sales.

The Buen Fin sales event began in 2010 in Mexico City as a way to promote local small businesses and the idea soon spread nationwide.

Nov. 20 is a national holiday that commemorates the conflict that constituted the start of the 1910 Mexican Revolution.

Punta Norte Premium Outlets, the most exclusive collection of outlet stores in Mexico, is located at Hacienda Sierra Vieja 2 in Cuautitlán Izcalli, in the state of Mexico, just north of Mexico City.