It seems that the stores Oxxo They are typical ‘decorations’ of Mexico, since they are found in every corner, city and entity of the country. FEMSA, the mother company of stores, estimates that every 24 hours a new store opens in some corner of the Republic.
The Oxxo stores They are part of one of the most recognized store chains inside and outside of Mexico. You can find everything from candy and soft drinks, to food, groceries and pharmacy. But do you know what its name means? We tell you.
Some people consider ‘OXXO’ to come from an abbreviation, but the answer is more creative than you imagine. Its name comes from an essential element in the world of marketing, shopping and offers: The percentage symbol (%).
It is said that during its first days of operation, The store used this symbol to identify itself from the competition and to endorse its low and accessible prices for Mexicans.
As time went by, this element evolved and transformed so that it could compose a word ‘OXXO’. However, the essence of the percentage is the same.
The history of OXXO
The history of Oxxo dates back almost 45 years, when the first store opened in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 1978. Throughout its path, it has been represented as one of the small format stores, which has managed to satisfy the needs of its clients and the same one that employs more than 150 thousand Mexican families.
Eugenio Garza LagüeraMexican businessman and philanthropist, belonging to the Garza Sada family from Monterrey, was founder of the chain of stores, which, according to Forbes magazine, are the Mexican equivalent of the Rockefellers, whose fortune comes from companies created by his grandfather, among they Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery.
Who owns Oxxo?
Cadena Comercial OXXO, SA de CV, better known as Oxxo, is a Mexican convenience store chain, owned by FEMSAfounded in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico, in 1978 and subsidiary of FEMSA Comercio, SA de CV and with presence in several countries in America.
Currently, Oxxo’s success has been consolidated by the presence of José Antonio Fernández Carbajalpresident and CEO of FEMSA.
Fernandez Carbajal is a Mexican businessman, resident in Monterrey. He is the president of the board of directors of Fomento Economico Mexicano since 2001, a company with diversified interests in the retail and beverage sectors, in various countries in Latin America and the Philippines. His shares are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange and the NYSE.
In January 2010, he acquired 20% of Heineken. In February 2012 he was named president of the board of directors of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), and in 2014 he was named executive president of the Board of Directors of FEMSA.
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