Chile: Femsa mulls market entry

Femsa, the Mexican FMCG and retail conglomerate, is preparing to move into Chile, according to a report in America Retail.

The company, which is also the world's largest Coca-Cola bottler, is said to be looking to install its Oxxo retail chain in the country and also to be exploring a partnership with Andina, Chile’s main bottler of Coca-Cola.

Currently Femsa has 64 bottling plants in the Philippines and Latin America and 12,853 retail outlets under the Oxxo brand in Mexico and Colombia.

Following a meeting with  economy minister Luis Felipe Cespedes, Femsa director of institutional relations and corporate communications Mauricio Reyes described Chile as "very attractive, not only for the Chilean market itself, but [because] I think it could be a very good starting point to develop and consolidate in other countries of the region".

According to Mr Reys the company is studying a number of opportunities and is exploring possibilities both in Chile and other countries. Regarding Chile, he added: "It depends on market conditions, the type of company that might exist and operations that have compatibility with the type of business we do. Although our approach is to be aggressive, we will not invest in a business that we have no knowledge of".

Source: America Retail