Wal-Mart de Mexico September Sales Up On Year Amy Guthrie - MarketWatch
go to original October 9, 2012

MEXICO CITY - Retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB said Monday its sales rose 15.3% in September from the same month a year earlier, to 33.16 billion pesos ($2.59 billion), with a marked improvement in comparable-store sales gains in Mexico and growth at its Central American outlets.

Walmex, as the unit of Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is called, said its total Mexican sales for the month increased 15.7%, to MXN28.83 billion. On a comparable-store basis, counting only stores that have been in operation for at least a year, sales in the country rose 10% versus September 2011, as customers spent 8.6% more per visit and the number of transactions rose by 1.3%.

Analysts were expecting an improvement for sales last month at the retailer's Mexican outlets following Walmex's aggressive sales campaigns designed to generate foot traffic via promotions in key departments, such as electronics.

Credit Suisse predicted that Walmex's September same-store sales in Mexico would gain 7% on the year.

Walmex has been brainstorming on how to improve sales at its Mexican outlets, which have underperformed the country's broader retail sector for several months. Mexican retail association Antad, of which Walmex is a member, will report its September sales data later this month.

In Mexican peso terms, Walmex's Central American sales rose 12.7% last month to MXN4.33 billion. On a constant-currency basis, sales in the region rose 14% from a year earlier, while same-store sales increased 8.1%.

For the first nine months of the year, Walmex said its total sales increased 12.4% from the same period in 2011 to MXN293.12 billion, with Mexican sales accounting for 86% of that figure.

Walmex said it opened 20 new outlets in Mexico and two in Central America last month, plus three more in Mexico so far in October and another in Guatemala, bringing its number of stores and restaurants in operation to 2,861.

In June, Walmex reduced its store-expansion plans following heightened scrutiny due to accusations that the company bribed public officials to speed store permits in Mexico.

Walmex plans to open between 325 and 335 new stores and restaurants this year and through March 2013. Last year the company inaugurated 441 new stores.

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