Latin America News & Analysis

Chilean-based retailer Cencosud is rolling out a 35-minute delivery service (Spid35) in all of its operating markets (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru). Rapid deliveries are made possible through the use of its own dark stores and through strategic partnerships with some of the regions’ largest last mile delivery businesses. Having launched the proposition earlier this year (Januar...

Mexico’s Grupo Comercial Chedraui, through its Bodega Latina Corporation subsidiary, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US-based operator, Smart & Final, in a $620m deal.  Unique retail model Smart & Final operates a unique concept in the US, bridging wholesale and retail models. It operates more than 250 stores under two banners: Smart & Final and Smart & Final Extra!, in C...

Casino said net sales fell by €1.1 bn to €7.1 bn in Q1 2021 versus the year before. Net sales fell by €467m in France, where strong growth at Cdiscount offset challenges elsewhere, while they decreased, in euro terms, by €680m in Latin America. However, the retailer noted the sharp improvement in its profitability during the quarter, with its EBITDA rising by €22m to €429m, driven by its on-going...

On Tuesday 27 April Grupo Éxito (part of the French retail group Casino) opened its latest Éxito Wow store in Colombia, following an investment of COP10 bn (US$2.6m). The new store is the retailer’s twelfth in the Wow format and is the first to open in 2021. Source: Grupo Éxito Grupo Éxito reported solid annual sales growth of 13.9% for the Wow format in 2020. The majority of the ...

Retailer OXXO, owned by the FEMSA beverage and retail company, is the largest chain of convenience stores in Latin America. It ended 2020 with 19,566 stores, of which 19,295 are in its domestic market Mexico. Government restrictions on mobility throughout the pandemic has led to challenging trading conditions for the businesses, which relies heavily on sales from on-the-move and transient ...

The convenience channel remains a great opportunity for growth. We have published a series of new reports for our IGD Retail Analysis subscribers: The convenience channel’s global outlook Global growth opportunities Multiformat retailers trading convenience stores Below are some of the key highlights to help you plan for the future... Use IGD’s view to drive change...

At the end of March 2021, Carrefour Brazil opened its first two fully autonomous stores. The stores use scan & go technology, which Carrefour is using in 40 Express stores, however these are its first unstaffed stores. "We already have 40 stores with the scan & go system. Our innovation area is conducting robust work to create an ecosystem that connects all of our businesses in one applicatio...

DIA said as part of its 2020 FY results its consolidated sales increased by 0.2% to €6,882m, compared to 2019. DIA continues to make improvements DIA’s sales increased 0.2%, despite a decrease in its store network by 6.9%, across Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina. The group achieved the sales increase despite the headwinds of tourism levels in Spain and Portugal being low due to COVID-...

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 ...