Walmart’s business continue to heat up: after acquiring Cornershop, the retail giant is expanding its Latin America operations to accelerate its omnichannel capabilities. The acquisition offers Walmart an online marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies, and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile, and it gained access to these opportunities for a hefty price: $225 million. Bloomberg reports that Walmart will subsequently sell Cornershop’s operations to its Mexico-based subsidiary, Walmex, as a means to bolster the company’s expansion into e-commerce. Mexico is a hot market right now, with Amazon also eyeing a possible strategic move in the country.
THE RAPID EXPANSION OF CORNERSHOP
Cornershop – founded by CEO Oskar Hjertonsson, Chief Operating Officer Daniel Undurraga – is rapidly expanding, with the number of unique users of its online marketplace doubling in the past year. Cornershop will likely remain an open platform that delivers from a variety of retailers, pending regulatory approval that will be completed at the end of the year. Walmart has been on a role with international business plans – having invested in China-based Dada-JD Daojia and India-based Flipkart – so it seems the retailer is looking to further boost its influence in the global grocery market.