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Walmart added 134 stores, four distribution centers in Mexico in 2019

Walmart de Mexico y Centroamerica now operates 3,407 stores in Mexico, Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Walmart has more than 3,400 stores and distribution centers throughout Mexico and Latin America. Image Walmart

Walmart Inc.’s (NYSE: WMT) unit in Mexico reported the company opened 134 new stores in that country in 2019, its largest expansion in Mexico in six years.

Walmart de Mexico y Centroamerica, or Walmex (MX:WALMEX), now runs 2,571 stores in Mexico, the largest number of stores outside the United States, the company said in its most recent month-to-month report.

In comparison, Walmart has opened only 20 new stores in the U.S. since 2018.

Many of Walmex’s new stores in Mexico are also part of the Bodega Aurrera discount chain, including Aurrera, Aurrera Express and Mi Bodega.


Walmex has stores all over Mexico, though the majority are huddled in central Mexico, in and around the cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara, Queretaro, Puebla and San Luis Potosi.

“We drove growth across all regions in Mexico. The north and south regions had the highest same-store sales growth, followed by the center and metro regions, which delivered softer growth due to the competitive dynamics and macro conditions in those regions,” Guilherme Loureiro, Walmex’s president and CEO, said during a conference call with analysts Dec. 3.

Walmex also operates 14 distribution centers in Mexico and announced plans for more — including e-commerce fulfillment centers in Guadalajara and Monterrey, and regular distribution centers in Mérida and Chihuahua.

The centers in Mérida and Chihuahua will be part of Walmart’s supply chain network into the U.S.


“We are excited about building an omnichannel supply chain for the future — opening up a new pipeline of new stores and setting us up for an accelerated e-commerce growth in Mexico,” Loureiro said during the conference call.

Walmex, based in Mexico City, now operates 3,407 stores in Mexico and Latin America, including Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador. 

Walmart had a total of 5,358 stores throughout the U.S. as of October 2019, including more than 519 in Texas.

Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact [email protected]