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Latin America prepares itself for the expansion of Sam |
| | Consumer Goods and Services | | | Author: John Price |
The Second Coming of Sam Walton: |
The 1990’s was the decade of Wal-Mart as the world’s largest retailer burst out of the American market, heading north, south, east and west. Mexico was easy prey for Wal-Mart, with its fractionalized and inefficient food distribution, underfinanced grocery chains and an undervalued peso that made acquisitions cheap. By 2000, Wal-Mart controlled 60% of Mexico’s formal food distribution sector. Now Wal-Mart’s little sister, Sam’s Club, is leading new store growth in Mexico, with a planned 15% expansion in 2005, from 61 to 70 stores. Just as Wal-Mart forever changed Mexico’s retail channels, Sam’s Club promises to shake up the country’s wholesale industry, as it has done in other markets.
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