Walmart Adding 70 Stores in Chile

Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.) has announced a five-year, $1.3 billion investment in its Chilean operations that includes opening 70 new stores there across all the brand’s formats. Walmart has operated in the country for 15 years and has 399 stores operating under the Lider, Express de Lider, Lider.cl, SuperBodega aCuenta and Central Mayorista formats.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at Walmart’s store in Punta Arenas, the retailer’s southernmost store in the world, by Walmart Chile President and CEO Cristián Barrientos and Walmart International President and CEO Kath McLay. Walmart officials note that the store is more than 2000 miles from its central distribution center and that the weather there can be extreme – this year, the area saw temperatures reaching -15° F – resulting in road closures and challenging border crossings. Because of this, Walmart has created supply chain routes by land, air and sea, or a combination of routes, to reach Punta Arenas’ Lider store.

“Stories like these are what drive us,” said Barrientos. “For this reason, the impact of Walmart Chile is not only in Punta Arenas; our value proposition aims to reach every corner of Chile: from Putre in the far north to Biobío in the central south. And to so many other places whose inhabitants motivate us to continue seeking new ways to approach, listen to and serve them… to become their best ally and neighbor.”

Walmart’s continued investment in Chile will mean expansions into new regions of the country like Vallenar, Los Vilos, Pozo Almonte and others. In addition, plans call for the opening of the country’s ninth distribution center in southern Chile, for solar panels to be incorporated into more than 50 stores and for 25 new recycling points to be added across the country by 2025.

Overall, Walmart has more than 10,500 stores in 19 countries.