Latin America News & Analysis

Mexico-based Jüsto (Spanish for fair) is a pureplay grocer. It is committed to offering customers fresh, and high-quality produce and meat at fair prices. It achieves this by working directly with suppliers and managing the complete end-to-end supply chain, without using intermediaries. This shortens the supply chain, meaning perishables do not spend lengthy times on shelves, losing freshness....

Mexican startup Jüsto was founded in 2019 and is one of Mexico’s first vertically integrated, online grocery platforms. Since its inception the business has raised around US$100m in investments. Its founder and CEO Ricardo Weber previously commented that Jüsto would disrupt the grocery industry in Latin America. Seven months on from our coverage of this , we caught up with Manolo Fernandez ...

In June 2018, private equity firm Advent International acquired an 81% stake in Walmart’s Brazil business for US$4.5 bn, with Walmart retaining a 19% stake. The retailer was renamed Grupo BIG. Carrefour Brazil has now reached an agreement to acquire Grupo BIG from Advent International and Walmart. The proposed acquisition would cement Carrefour’s leadership position in the market. The trans...

Autonomous stores are a growing trend we are seeing globally. Since the start of the pandemic, customers have preferred to shop in stores closer to their home. The compact size of autonomous stores enables businesses to open units that are closer, making them a convenient and safer option. Here we explore three autonomous store concepts we have seen in the region.  Oxxo Smart, Mexico ...

In 2020, wholesale retailer Makro (owned by Dutch private trading group SHV Holdings), celebrated its twenty fifth year of operating in Colombia. While Makro has recently scaled back its operations in other Latin American markets, Colombia remains a market of strategic importance for the business. Over the last year it has made some significant changes to its store model to better align to cus...

France-based Casino saw consolidated net sales rise 8% at constant exchange rates, to €31.9 bn, in its 2020 financial year. However, they fell by 7.9% after considering exchange rate effects and hyperinflation and the falling price of fuel. The retailer’s full year results rose by 9% and by 8% in organic and same-store terms respectively. France: +3.0% in same-store sales Casino reported to...

Walmart Mexico (Walmex) recently reported total revenue growth of 8% for 2020 and 5.9% for Q4. Same-store-sales increased by 6.7% for the full year (4.9% in Q4). At its annual Walmex Day event, the business outlined three business priorities for the year 2021 and beyond: win in discount lead in omnichannel develop its ecosystems. Ambition to become the omnichannel market leader ...

Historically, across Latin America food-to-go has not been a particular hot spot for product innovation and the category is often uninspiring. This is possibly due to the vibrant street food culture in the region, which is readily available, fast to produce, delicious and affordable. However, in the last year we have started to see early signs of innovation in the category. Despite these dev...

Chilean retail group Falabella aims to open 11 new supermarkets in 2021. This will consist of four Tottus stores in Chile and seven supermarkets in Peru, across its Tottus and Hiperbodega banners. The business will also invest US$243m in optimising its store network, which spans across supermarkets, shopping centres, and home improvement stores. Heavy investment in 2021 Falabella’s CEO G...

Shoppers’ needs have evolved in recent years and they increasingly want stores and online delivery services that can adapt to their busy lifestyles. This has been accelerated by the conditions of the pandemic, which have impacted mobility, creating a greater need for delivery. In response, retailers are investing in ecommerce and re-prioritising their omnichannel strategies. Walmart Mexico (...