Yesterday 16 regional supermarket chains, two of them Costa Rican, signed an agreement in El Salvador to unite forces and be more competitive against the retail giant Wal-Mart. The regional organization will be called Super Markets of Central America and Panama (SUCAP), and will have its home base in El Salvador.

Costa Rica News — New Supermarket Alliance Stands up to Wal-Mart Monopoly

Among the companies that will form the new alliance include Costa Rican Chains Perimercados, Super Compro, Auto Mercado and Jumbo. In all, the organization includes 9 companies that own the 16 chains, with a total of 278 supermarkets throughout the six countries in the region. Combined, their total annual income is more than $2.2 billion.

The alliance hopes to stimulate competitive prices, enter new markets and improve their practices and administrative systems to better compete against the big guns of Wal-Mart, who owns 447 supermarkets in the region. Their 149 chains in Costa Rica fall under the names of Hipermas, Pali, Mas por Menos and Maxibodegas.

Smaller chains will be huge beneficiaries from the alliance because they will able to open up to larger markets throughout the region. They will be able to lower operation expenses by sharing information about the best industry practices. SUCAP will maintain a transparent philosophy among the ranks of the organization so that everyone that can benefit will, with emphasis in quality products and high international standards.

While SUCAP’s 278 supermarket’s still can not compare with Wal-Mart’s excessive regional presence which includes 30 million customers , they will work together to defend against being pushed out by the international giant.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on February 8th, 2008