Wal-Mart has substantially expanded its presence in Mexico over the past year with plans to grow its presence further. In March of this year, sales (adjusted for inflation) rose 18.3% from the same period one year earlier. Roughly half of the sales increase was attributable to the opening of new stores and service units. Wal-Mart has recently opened a discount store (Bodega Aurrera) in Guerrero and three food service units located in Baja California, Tabasco, and Veracruz. As of 1 April, it operated a total of 506 retail establishments’ nation-wide including supermarkets, department stores, and restaurants.


By Steven Lewis, just-food.com correspondent