Bodega Aurrerá is the name of one of the most famous self-service store formats in Mexico.. On February 15, 2023, its 2,300 store was inaugurated in Santa Anita Cadereyta, Nuevo León within the framework of its 75th anniversary.
The inauguration of this establishment proves the validity and expansion of the company, from the catalog of 18,800 products it offers, the extension of the premises (3,900 square meters of sales floor), to the generation of jobs and the attraction of clients through different strategies. .
At the same time, it also reveals its evolution. For more than seven decades until today, Bodega Aurrerá is a benchmark in the trade sector. How has your transcendence been in Mexico and what are the challenges you have faced?
Bodega Aurrerá means giving access to the lowest prices today, 75 years ago, tomorrow and always“, says Rocío Alfaro, director of operations of the brand in an interview for Alto Nivel, who tells us the story of the ‘champion of low prices’.
Aurrerá: The birth of ‘low prices’
The concept was born in the 50s by the brothers Jerónimo, Manuel and Plácido Arangowho were looking for a store that had on its shelves hundreds of products of different types in the same place and with the lowest price on the market.
This is how the company’s first establishment was installed between the streets of Bolívar and Chimalpopoca around the year 1958.. As a curious fact, today we can still find the Aurrerá Winery in that location, although obviously remodeled.
Since the founding of this store, the purpose has been to offer products at affordable prices to Mexicans, which remains to this day. What changed over time was the expansion and diversity of the products”, mentions the executive.
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Despite the fact that today all of Mexico can identify the name, logo and color of the self-service store, at first it was called central clothing. It was not until 1970 when he was baptized as aurrera after the union of the company with Jewel Co. 1965.
For its part, the logo is a shield, an abstraction of the letter A, which allows Mexicans to quickly identify stores”, he adds.
After 53 years, the stores are still identified under the same name. According to information from the official website of Walmart, aurrera refers to a Basque term that means forward.
It seems the name predicted the future. In 1970, The Arango brothers’ company opened its first branch under this title and only seven years later it began to be listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
Aurrerá, the first company to use the barcode in Mexico
By 1986, the self-service store had already created brands such as superlove, vips, suburbia and many others, for which it was established Figure Groupwith the objective of managing and modernizing the entire conglomerate.
One of the first visible changes was the use of the barcodea tool that until then had never been tested in Mexico, but that to this day serves as one of the most practical instruments both inside and outside self-service checkouts.
Four years later, Walmart, the retail giant founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, arrived in the country and merged with Grupo Cifra to add to its portfolio Sam’s Clubwhich was first opened to the Mexican public in 1991.
Within the same decade, several of the Aurrerá stores became Walmarts. Nevertheless, the establishments that remained added the name of ‘Store’ in front of the well-known Aurreráemphasizes Alfaro.
The 2000s and the birth of the masked woman from Bodega Aurrerá: Mama Lucha
Bodega Aurrerá continued to innovate and in 2006 presented ‘the champion of low prices’. A ‘Mom Fight’ in charge of giving voice and color to the brand; Present new products, offers and promotions.
The charismatic character represents today’s Mexican women and despite the fact that she has also undergone changes over time, he retains his focus on the well-being of his family and loved ones.
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In 2004 the ‘Mi Bodega Aurrerá’ format was born. According to Rocío, these stores are located mainly in rural areas and although they are smaller than the Bodega Aurrerá establishments, they are able to perfectly cover the needs of all consumers.
Around 2005, the new ‘Express’ format was introduced in the State of Mexico and later throughout the Republic. The smallest vertical of the company with the closest proximity to the neighborhoods, neighborhoods and Mexican communities whose distance is separated from plazas and shopping centers.
- 2009: Opening of the 500th store in CDMX
- 2011: Opening of the 1,000th store in Coahuila
- 2019: Opening of the 2,000th store in Chiapas
- 2021: Opening of store number 2,100 in Nuevo León
- 2022: Opening of the 2,200th store in Yucatán
- 2023: Opening of store number 2,300 in Nuevo León
Among the largest in retail
In 2023, Bodega Aurrerá continues to be one of the best valued and recognized companies in the country. Last month, The brand represented by Mamá Lucha was positioned among the most valuable in the retail sector with a market value of 6,270 million dollars.
According to the ranking BrandZ made by Kantarthe company is ahead of Oxxo, Soriana and Liverpool, among others, and is in third place only behind Telcel (12,785 million dollars) and Corona (8,291 dollars).
Currently, Bodega Aurrerá has implemented different strategies and additions to improve its service and continue expanding within the territorial margin. Some of them are:
- Home service in less than 24 hours
- pickup service
- Kiosk service (extended and independent online catalog of products in stock)
- Automatic collection boxes (more than 180 to date)
- Mobile app
- Internet access and telephony
- sending remittances
- Alliances with different payment applications
Our goal for the future is based on three pillars: To continue being ‘the champion of low prices’, to become omnichannel leaders to give our customers what they need when, how and where they need it and finally to be the preferred ecosystem of our consumers. ”, concludes the director of operations of Bodega Aurrerá.
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