De Narváez told the Government that he will invest US $ 120 million in Walmart

Damien Kantor

11/09/2020 13:06

• Clarín.com

• Economy

Updated 11/09/2020 13:06

Shortly before taking the formal command of Walmart, businessman Francisco De Narváez held a virtual meeting with the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, and anticipated

.

He also expressed his commitment to the development of SME providers and ratified his adherence to the Care Prices program.

Kulfas considered that the purchase of the chain by the businessman is "

because it is an international company that carries out a global restructuring that includes countries such as Brazil and England and the local operation is acquired by an important group in the sector with experience in the country and operations in Uruguay and Ecuador ”.

Last Thursday and after a hard fight between several business groups, Walmart made official the sale of its Argentine subsidiary to the former head of Casa Tía.

Today, two men of his close trust, Fernando Minaudo and Federico Erhart, will take control of the chain, which in Argentina has 92 branches, 9,000 employees and a 12% market share.

The transfer of assets does not contemplate the use of the Walmart brand, which will be withdrawn from the market in a few months.

In the talk on Zoom, De Narváez explained in broad strokes that his plan is to develop the chain: "We entrepreneurs have to

" he said.

The official expressed the will to work on expanding the participation of SMEs in their role as suppliers: "We are interested in developing the commercial environment for the benefit of the consumer and the SME component throughout the chain," said Kulfas.

In a cordial tone, De Narváez said that his objective "is to invest to have an effective and efficient organization, that is the policy we have followed in all the countries where we are present, and that will happen with Walmart." Today is a Special day for De Narváez. With the purchase of Walmart, he returns to the gondola business in Argentina, his first love, after 22 years. Although the amount of the operation is unknown, it transpired that

The businessman sold Casa Tía in December 1998, but kept it in the region.

Today it has a presence in nine countries, with 656 branches and more than 24,500 employees, according to reports, with its different formats and platforms.

Operates Tia Ecuador and Ta-Ta, BAS (clothing), San Roque (pharmacies), Frontoy (wholesaler), Multiahorro (electrical appliances) and Woow (online store) in Uruguay.

Sources close to the businessman maintain that the initial plan is to preserve Walmart's positioning: today it is the 4th chain in the country behind Carrefour, Cencosud (Jumbo, Disco and Vea) and Coto, and reorganize its operation based on two priorities: propping up e-commerce and the development of products with its own brand, which today account for 19% of its Walmart sales.