Already ambitious, plans for Walmart’s distribution center in Yucatán just got more grand.
Walmart of Mexico and Central America announced that it will expand its budget to 950 million pesos, an increase of 50 percent over the original investment.
In July, the international firm first expressed interest in choosing the Yucatán to host its 14th distribution center in Mexico. But this won’t be just a regular Walmart distribution center.
Company officials cited Yucatán’s good economic and social climate. They also noted the support of both state authorities and municipal officials in Kanasín, where the site will be located, as well as the cooperation of federal agencies such as the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
At first, this facility was designed to focus mainly on the region, but this new injection of resources will make it the most prominent center of all southeast Mexico, on par with the one in Nuevo León, which has a reach that extends to Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Durango and San Luis Potosi.
This new center, which will start operations in 2019, will reach 95 stores on the Peninsula and several Central American countries .
The original plans called for about 750 new jobs, but that figure could grow up to 30 percent, Walmart officials said.
The space will be highly automated, which will require skilled personnel.
In Yucatan, the firm has a presence in 14 municipalities: Mérida, Halachó, Hunucma, Izamal, Motul, Kanasín, Oxkutzcab, Tekax, Tixkokob, Tizimín, Ticul, Umán, Valladolid and Progreso. It has 36 units, divided into 10 Bodega Aurrerás, 11 My Bodega Aurrerás, five Bodega Aurrerá Express, three Sam’s Clubs, a Superama and six Walmarts.
Its total investment in the territory has been over 3 billion pesos, bringing jobs to 3,457 local workers.
Walmart will open at least four more stores in Mérida next year, including one on Avenida Aviación by the airport entrance.
Source: El Grillo
