Mexico/Chile: Soriana and Falabella, retail giants, to begin $600 mill. joint venture

Mexican supermarket chain Soriana and Chile’s Falabella have announced they will be developing a joint business venture of home improvement and construction materials stores, which will involve a $600 million dollar investment over five years. The new company, which will begin operating in Mexico “will try to develop a financial base to develop an integral offer of services and credit products… which allow customers to exploit their benefits” said Soriana in an announcement to the Mexican stock market.

Falabella and Soriana will begin with equal 50% ownership of the business as it enters this new market. The partnership will allow the companies to work together “to compliment our business portfolio” said Ricardo Martín Bringas, Soriana’s CEO.

The business will be run by the subsidiary companies Sodimac and CMR, both in Mexico, while taking advantage of Soriana’s real estate holdings. Sandro Solari, Falabella’s CEO, has said that the alliance with Soriana is part of the company’s drive towards international markets. Falabella is one of the leading retail chain operators in the continent, with supermarket operations in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Peru.

Full Content: El Universal

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