With a $3.12 million investment, the multinational supermarket chain inaugurated the first of seven new stores planned for the second half of 2010.
Located at Mix Shopping Mall, in the City of San Cristóbal, the new facility has already created 91 jobs.
Marcio Cuevas, Wal-Mart corporate affairs manager, told Elperiodico.com.gt: “we’ll open seven new stores of our various brands (Supertiendas Paiz, Despensa Familiar, Maxi Bodega y ClubCo), in the second half of 2010”.
As part of its expansion plan for 2010, the supermarket chain will open 4 new stores in the country.
Mey Hung, Corporate Affairs director for Walmart in Honduras, told newspaper El Heraldo that “our recent investment in Honduras signals that the Central American market is growing rapidly and provides interesting opportunities”.
Walmart’s 4 new stores in Honduras will create 1.000 jobs, and are included in a larger $53 million plan to open 30 new supermarkets in Central America.
Automercado, Walmart and Gessa are expected to open 18 new supermarkets in 2010, worth a combined investment of $20 million.
Walmart will add ten new locations to its network, using its Pali and Maxi Bodega Brands, while Automercado will open two and Gessa six under its Perimercados and Super Compro brands.
Once ready, Costa Rica will have a grand total of 323 supermarkets, out of which 170 will be owned by Walmart, 82 by Megasuper, 58 by Gessa and 13 by Automercado, reported Nacion.com.
The supermarket chain invested over $1 million in replacing refrigeration and illumination systems.
WalMart updated all its supermarkets in the country (Pali, Hipermas, MasXMenos and MaxiBodega), and could save around 1.520.000 kW h per year.
“They replaced standard lighting equipment with efficient energy decides, improved refrigeration systems and humidity control equipment”, reported Elfinancierocr.com.
By the end of the year, the supermarket chain will roll out new technology for its locations in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
This investment includes inventory systems, cash register technology and tools for controlling the flow of goods, reported Aquileo Sánchez, Corporate Communications director at Wal-Mart Central America.
From Elsalvador.com: “He also commented they expect important growth in the future and that they plan to open additional stores in the short term”.
WalMart Central America will open 11 new stores in Costa Rica in 2010.
Marcos Samaha, president and CEO, explained that seven of them will operate under the 'Palí' brand, three under 'Mas X Menos' and one 'Maxi Bodega'.
"500 direct jobs will be created by these stores, which will be added to the total 9.200 employees the company has in Costa Rica. WalMart operates 4 brands in the country: Palí, Más x Menos, Hipermás y Maxi Bodega", reports Nacion.com.
The new Hiper Paíz will open next week, at the Eskala Shopping Mall, becoming the chain's seventh hypermarket in the country.
Wal-Mart Central America is betting, with this new supermarket, to capture clients from the Mixco municipality and the neighboring departments of Sacatepéquez and Chimaltenango.
Wal Mart's Guatemalan Corporate Affairs Manager, Mario Cuevas, commented about the new project to Sigloxxi.com: "We are proud of Hiper Paiz's Mixco inauguration. We are finishing the last details of the new store to receive customers and give them a pleasant shopping experience".
31 Salvadoran entrepreneurs presented their products to Wal-Mart executives, at the Business Round organized by the multi-national company.
The event “Business Round” is part of Wal-Mart’s program “A hand to grow.” Claudia de Ibáñez, Manager of Corporate Affairs for Wal-Mart Central America, commented to Laprensagrafica.com that “something that is worth underlining is that the support of family businesses stimulates job growth.
The investment of $1 million for the new Despensa Familiar (Family Pantry) store is part of the company’s expansion and investment plan in the country.
The operations manager of Family Pantries, Fabricio Molina, told La Prensa Gráfica: "In the next six months, the corporation (Wal-Mart Central America) will be opening six more stores which will be located in various parts of the country, including the capital.
Starting January 2009, the corporate offices of Wal-Mart Central America will be set up in Costa Rica.
The Executive Committee of the company will have their headquarters and corporate offices in Costa Rica.
Since 2001, when the alliance between La Fragua Guatemala and the United Supermarkets Corporation of Costa Rica was made, the company has kept the corporate offices of both of the original companies while it continue to integrate them into one regional company.
Saving in electricity or increasing the number of private brands are some of the strategies that Wal-Mart Central America is pushing with the goal of reducing the cost of operation.
During an interview with the Prensa Libre, Manuel Zuniga, vice-president of Corporate Matters for Wal-Mart Central America, he spoke of how the consumption habits and loyalty of clients have changed under the new circumstances.
The supermarket chain, Wal-Mart, plans to continue its expansion and its strategy leans towards attending consumers in the province.
According to Aquileo Sanchez, Communications Director for Wal-Mart Central America, through the rest of 2008 and the beginning of next year, they plan to open between 10 and 15 new stores. Sanchez said that this proposal is a part of a strategy of focusing its objectives on consumers who are looking for basic items at low prices.
Sixteen Central American supermarket chains have formed an alliance to boost efficiency and fight regional competition led by Wal-Mart.
The alliance, known as Sucap, is still at the stage of defining the structure it will use for joint operations, said Guillermo Aguilar, managing director of Perimercados, one of four Costa Rican members.
Sucap leaders met recently in Panama to work out strategies, and evaluations are underway of the operations of member supermarkets. A group of executives from Salvadoran members of Sucap visited Costa Rica to study the fruit and vegetable distribution centers of Grupo Empresarial de Supermercados (GESSA).