Ulises Argote Bolio

Ulises Argote Bolio from Santander asked about the supply chain, specifically if private label suppliers are keeping up with the rapid expansion. He also questioned if the company would consider revising its full-year store opening guidance upwards given the accelerated pace.

Answer

CEO Anthony Hatoum stated that the company is not revising its store opening guidance but is confident in meeting it. On the supply chain, he explained that they mitigate risks through meticulous long-term planning, working with suppliers on a three-year lead time to ensure they can meet future demand smoothly, which has been key to their continuous, high-paced growth.

Ulises Argote Bolio from Santander asked about the supply chain, specifically if private label suppliers were keeping pace with the rapid expansion. He also asked if the company planned to revise its full-year store opening guidance given the accelerated run rate.

Answer

CEO Anthony Hatoum stated that the company is not revising its store opening guidance but is confident in meeting it. On the supply chain, he explained that a long-term planning model, with up to a three-year lead time, ensures suppliers are prepared for future volume and quality needs. This proactive approach mitigates risk and supports smooth, continuous growth.

Ulises Argote Bolio inquired about the supply chain, asking if private label suppliers are keeping pace with the rapid expansion. He also asked if the company would revise its full-year store opening guidance given the current accelerated pace.

Answer

CEO Anthony Hatoum assured that the company manages its supply chain through long-term planning, working with suppliers on a three-year lead time to ensure they can meet future demand smoothly. He stated that while the company is confident in meeting its targets, it is not revising its official store opening guidance at this time.

Ulises Argote Bolio from Santander inquired about the potential impact of the proposed reduction of the working week in Mexico and asked about the future strategy for the YEMA brand.

Answer

CFO Eduardo Pizzuto explained that the company is prepared for the working week reduction and can adjust store hours to comply, with any initial cost impact expected to be absorbed by sales growth. Executive Kamal Hatoum confirmed the YEMA concept has been successful and will likely be rolled out, though at a different pace than the core Tiendas 3B stores.

Ulises Argote Bolio from Banco Santander, S.A. asked for an elaboration on the drivers behind the significant increase in private label penetration during 2024. He also inquired how this evolution compares to the company's internal business plan and what the expectations are for private label penetration in the coming years.

Answer

Executive Kamal Hatoum stated that the increase in private label penetration is driven simply by offering better value to customers through continuous improvements in quality, features, and price. As the value proposition of private label products improves, customers naturally buy more of them. For future expectations, he suggested looking at the historical evolution of BIM in Turkey as a 'time machine' and a fairly accurate indicator of 3B's potential trajectory, implying a continued upward trend as long as the company scales and improves its offerings.

Ulises Argote Bolio from Santander requested more detail on the weakness in convenience categories at the Bara format, including its sales mix, and inquired about the future strategic focus on its product assortment.

Answer

Director of IR Juan Fonseca stated that convenience categories represent about 30% of Bara's sales mix. He clarified that the future strategy is to significantly expand the private label offering, aiming to grow its mix from the 20s to over 40%. This shift towards a harder discount model will inherently reduce the relative weight of traditional convenience categories.

Ulises Argote Bolio requested more detail on the weakness in convenience categories at the Bara hard discount format, including its mix and future strategic focus.

Answer

Director of IR Juan Fonseca clarified that convenience categories represent about 30% of Bara's sales mix. He confirmed the strategic focus is to significantly grow the private label business, aiming to increase its mix from the 20s to over 40%, which would naturally reduce the relative weight of convenience categories.

Ulises Argote Bolio asked for more color on the rebranding of DK stores to OXXO in the U.S., including any early readings on sales lift, profitability impact, and the potential timeline for a full rebranding of the store base.

Answer

Jose Antonio Fernández, CEO of the Proximity and Health Division, reported that early results from the rebranding have been surprisingly positive, with significant double-digit increases in sales and traffic for the first converted stores. While cautioning this could be a 'honeymoon phase,' he confirmed the eventual goal is to convert nearly all DK stores to the OXXO banner as they continue to experiment with and refine the value proposition.

Ulises Argote Bolio of Santander followed up on OXXO's traffic dynamics, asking what trends were visible at the start of 2025, and inquired about any surprising learnings from the initial months of operating the acquired Delek business in the U.S.

Answer

An executive acknowledged that traffic was soft at the start of 2025, partly due to cold weather, but expressed confidence in a recovery. Regarding Delek, CFO Martin Arias Yaniz stated the biggest surprise was the significant number of operational improvement opportunities identified. The main challenge is creating a standalone platform for the business. CEO Jose Antonio Fernández proudly announced the opening of the first OXXO-branded store in Texas, converted from a Delek location.

Ulises Argote Bolio asked for a quantification of the net impact from insurance payments recognized in Mexico during the quarter to better understand comparability.

Answer

CFO Gerardo Celaya specified that the company recorded a net favorable impact of MXN 65 million in Mexico for the quarter. This figure resulted from MXN 140 million in insurance recovery, partially offset by MXN 75 million in related expenses.

Ulises Argote Bolio of Santander asked about the potential for increased dividends or share buybacks given the company's low leverage, and also inquired about the current appetite for M&A.

Answer

CEO Ian Marcel Craig García acknowledged the company's inefficient capital structure and confirmed they are reviewing capital return strategies with FEMSA, with more details to come later in the year. He also affirmed that inorganic growth via M&A remains a key strategic pillar, although the timing of any potential deal is difficult to predict.

Ulises Argote Bolio from Santander asked for specifics on the capacity being added by the seven new production lines in 2024 and whether this expansion is sufficient to meet demand or if more investments in lines and plants are expected.

Answer

CFO Gerardo Celaya outlined a plan to increase manufacturing capacity by 15% and distribution capacity by 30% over the 2023-2025 period. CEO Ian Marcel Craig García added that while they are currently adding lines to existing facilities, new greenfield plants will eventually be needed for Southeast Mexico and Brazil to support long-term growth.