Good morning to all participants, and welcome to the Grupo Comercial Chedraui fourth quarter 2023 conference call. Participating in the conference call today will be Mr. José Antonio Chedraui, CEO of Grupo Comercial Chedraui, Mr. Carlos Smith, CEO of Chedraui USA, Humberto Tafolla Núñez, Grupo Chedraui's CFO, and Arturo Velázquez Díaz, IRO for the company. We will begin the call with initial comments on Grupo Comercial Chedraui's fourth quarter financial results by the company's CEO, Mr. José Antonio Chedraui. Please go ahead.
Good morning to all, and welcome to our presentation of Grupo Chedraui's fourth quarter 2023 results. We're pleased to announce that Grupo Chedraui's fourth quarter and 2023 results met, and in some cases, exceeded the guidance we provided at the beginning of the year. Our organic growth strategy continued with the opening of 57 stores in Mexico and 3 stores in the United States, closing the year with a total of 460 and 379 stores, respectively. Finally, I want to recognize and express gratitude to the commitment and dedication of our employees in Acapulco, who, in the face of the impact of Hurricane Otis, effectively applied our business continuity plan, which allowed us to overcome this event in record time while reinforcing our commitment to customers.
Being the first self-service chain to reopen its stores, we also provided immediate relief to our coworkers and community members through Fundación Chedraui. We will now review the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023, starting with the highlights of our consolidated results, continuing with the performance of each region, and ending with a summary of the financial results. Please, let's review slide four. Consolidated sales declined 0.4%, primarily driven by an 11% foreign exchange impact on Chedraui USA sales when converted to Mexican pesos. Without the currency impact, consolidated sales would have grown by 5.9%. Sales in the U.S. represented 50% of consolidated sales in the quarter and 53% for the full year.
Our operating efficiency and cost control strategy offset the currency translation impact on EBITDA, which grew 7.3% compared to the same quarter of last year. Excluding the currency impact, consolidated EBITDA increased 14.2%. We achieved a higher EBITDA margin of 9.1% of sales and a 66 basis point increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. On slide five, higher EBITDA, efficient working capital management, and a decline in bank debt led to favorable net income and profitability levels. The 4-year compound annual growth rate for net income in the fourth quarter was 60.5%, with total net income amounting to MXN 2,494 million.
Profitability measured by return on equity stood at 18.6% and represented a 130 basis points increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. In the following slides, we will review operations in Mexico and the U.S. On slide six, our ongoing commitment to an effective price strategy for our customers drove same-store sales above ANTAD levels. On average, in 2023, we had a positive spread of 283 basis points. Customers continued to prefer the value proposition offered by Chedraui through its various store formats, as we aim to provide them with the best product mix at the best possible price while maintaining excellent customer service. We opened 57 stores in 2023 for a total of 460 stores in Mexico.
In the last four years, we increased store count by 154, and this includes 36 stores acquired from Arteli in 2022. Slide seven, as a result of strong same-store sales and a 2.5% increase in our sales floor area, consolidated sales were higher by 13.7% compared to the fourth quarter. In addition, EBITDA grew 16.2%, which is explained by operating leverage and strict cost control. EBITDA ended at 8.4% of sales, which is an 18 basis points improvement versus prior. In the next slide, slide eight, we will review the highlights of our real estate division. The division sales continue to show positive trends, with a 17.5% increase compared to the same quarter of 2022, amounting to MXN 343 million.
Over the last 12 months, 11,017 square meters of leasable area were incorporated, representing a 2.6% annual growth. Our occupancy rate increased to 97.3% from 94.4% in 2022. Finally, EBITDA declined by 4.4% due to one-time cost in the quarter. Now, I will turn the meeting over to Carlos Smith, CEO of Chedraui USA, so he can comment on our U.S. operation. Carlos, please go ahead.
Thank you, Antonio. Customer count continued to grow in the fourth quarter at all banners, driven by our strong value proposition and store remodeling investments. Beginning in November, all banners began cycling against last year's sales that were positively impacted by supplemental government assistance to our customers, which ran from November 2022 through March 2023. In addition, we experienced deflationary trends in certain categories that impacted our average ticket size. During Q4, total sales decreased by 0.2%, with same-store sales declining by 1% in dollar terms. And as previously mentioned, Chedraui USA sales were impacted by the exchange fluctuation that caused an 11.3% decline in Q4 sales compared to the previous year, when converted to Mexican pesos. Given their strong focus on price leadership and perishables, El Super and Fiesta delivered strong same-store sales results.
However, sales slowed at Smart & Final in Q4 due to deflationary pressures and reduced government stimulus. We are currently executing several initiatives to drive Smart & Final sales, with a particular focus on delivering the best value and product offerings. Please turn to slide 10. Despite this currency impact, EBITDA performance in the quarter remained strong. EBITDA grew 1.3% to MXN 3,295 million, representing a 117 basis points margin expansion and 9.4% of sales. In U.S. dollar terms, EBITDA increased by 13.8%. It is important to note that each banner increased total EBITDA margin dollars compared to the previous year. This is a result of continued operating efficiencies and operating expense control.
We continued our organic growth in the quarter with the opening of 2 Smart & Final stores in California, for a total of 3 store openings in 2023, and an El Super store in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the third quarter, bringing our total store count to 379. Our U.S. operation remains committed to driving profitable growth through our 3 successful banners, with the expected 2024 openings of 6 new stores: 4 El Supers, 1 Smart & Final, and 1 Fiesta. Our debt reduction plan is on track, with $173 million paid in 2023, and an ending 2023 debt balance of $482 million. That concludes our report on the U.S. operation.
Thank you, Carlos. Now, we turn to the consolidated financial results on slide 11. In the fourth quarter of the year, consolidated sales amounted to MXN 69,760 million, a 0.4% decline year-over-year, as Chedraui USA sales were impacted by an 11% appreciation of the Mexican peso. Gross profit increased with a 10 basis points expansion in gross margin, while operating expenses without depreciation and amortization decreased 4.1%. As a result, consolidated EBITDA grew 7.3% to MXN 6,380 million and represented 9.1% of sales, a 66 basis points increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
Financial expenses decreased 6.8% to MXN 1,226 million, driven by lower debt levels in the quarter, the foreign exchange impact, and higher interest earned from a favorable cash position in Mexico. Moving on to the consolidated net income for the quarter, it increased 18.6% to MXN 2,494 million and represented 3.6% of sales. Finally, please move to slide 12. As a result of a net cash balance, our financial leverage closed the year stronger than expected at -0.24x, compared to the same period of 2022, when it closed at 0.05x. This is the result of the company's ability to generate free cash flow and Chedraui USA's debt prepayments over the year.
The year-to-date CapEx invested reached MXN 7,491 million, which is equivalent to 2.8% of sales. Now, if you allow me, we will move on to the question and answer section.
Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment please, while we poll for your questions. Our first questions come from the line of Benjamin Theurer with Barclays. Please proceed with your questions.
Yeah, good morning, Antonio, Carlos. Thanks for taking my question. Congrats on those very strong results. Actually, one for Carlos. In the US business, could you help us with maybe a few examples, explaining a little bit what you've been doing throughout the year in order to really drive that significant margin expansion in the US business? Because it was broad-based, so it was in Smart & Final, it was in El Super and Fiesta Mart, seen a very good performance here throughout the year. Just to understand, like, what's the magnitude or how you feel about the level that you've achieved right now, and where do you see still maybe some room to continue to improve that as 2024 progresses? That would be my very first question. Thank you.
Yes, good morning, Benjamin. Yes, look, we, as we've mentioned a few times before, really the key for us is to drive sales mix through higher, higher margin categories, which is perishables, right? So if you think about our strategy at El Super, then implemented at Fiesta, and now beginning and still in the early stages of implementation at Smart & Final, it's all... For us, it's all about leading with price, being price leaders, and really delivering on a very strong perishable offering, where you've got great pricing and great quality. And we continue to do that. So, what's been interesting is that, we continue to see gains on the El Super side, which is much more mature in terms of its perishable sales mix.
But, we're happy with what we're seeing in, we're happy with the progress, I guess, in terms of what we're seeing at Fiesta. We still think it's got tremendous room for growth in this arena. And, like I mentioned just a little bit earlier, we're still in the early stages of developing this at the Smart & Final banner.
Okay, perfect. And then my second-
And, one more thing.
Yep. Oh, yeah.
Go ahead, sorry.
No, no, no, no, no, you finished. That's, that's fine. Sorry for that, I thought you were done.
No, and obviously, the second important point here is the leverage that you know we now bring as an you know nearly $8 billion retailer in the U.S. with common suppliers, and that's certainly bringing in some efficiencies.
Perfect. And then as we look into the balance sheet, which obviously is very strong, and you close the year with a net cash position, your guidance implies an even greater net cash position by the end of the year, you just announced a dividend payment. So maybe that one's more for Antonio, but how do you think about maybe incremental cash returns aside from the dividend and the extraordinary dividend you announced? Or do you think you need the capital for accelerated CapEx and/or potential further M&A as you've done it in the past? Thank you.
For the Grupo team, you might wanna see if you're self-muted at all from any of your connections, please.
Can you hear me?
We can hear you now, yeah.
Yes, now we can. Okay. I'm sorry. Okay, I was saying that we have a strong balance sheet. We ended up with a cash position of MXN 5.5 billion this 2023, and we pretend to end close to MXN 10 billion on December this year. Expanding our CapEx and also adding an extraordinary dividend by the end of the year.
So, in the end, we have a very good cash position that we believe we can increment, not only with the results, but with our ability to keep adding value through our working capital that we always produce benefits coming from managing inventory better, because every year we do some adjustments that allow us to become better in this matter. I know this answers your question, but-
Yeah, to a degree. I mean, the question is, like, obviously, with such a strong cash balance, do you think you can further engage in M&A or potentially even more share buybacks or share repurchase, something like that, or just more dividend? Because it kind of almost feels like an inefficient capital structure having so much cash on the balance sheet, when you maybe have the opportunity to invest it into more growth or more M&A opportunities, whatever arises over the course of the year.
Well, we've taken 3 measures already. One, it's increasing our CapEx for expansion and maintenance. We increased our CapEx to 3.8% of sales. We would be spending close to MXN 11 billion in CapEx this year. On the other hand, we are increasing our dividend. Our dividend will be the double of the total dividend that we gave in this year, close to 28% of the income results. And then, we are open to consolidation opportunities. We always are looking at opportunities.
They do not necessarily become a reality because we are very careful on the target, but also very careful on the price of the target. We have proven that every consolidation that we have taken, all of them value, we are conscious about that. So, yes, we're open to that. We're looking at opportunities, but they do not necessarily realize unless they add value to Chedraui.
Okay. Antonio, thank you very much for that, and congrats on the results.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Luis Willard with GBM. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi, everyone, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. And again, congrats to you and fabulous team for the results. So, first, I think it's quite simple. So as we enter 2024 and we still see quite a solid consumption environment or at least resilient consumption environment, how are you thinking then in terms of the competition and the price gaps versus other self-service companies? And especially, you know, other formats are also playing into the low-income segments of Mexico. How you think about price gap there?
Luis, I'm sorry. The line, it's not coming clear, so can you help me and repeat it, please? I'm sorry, but the line is not allowing us to hear you clearly.
Yeah, one second, and I'll change it. Is it better?
Yes, completely better.
All right, perfect. So the question was, as we enter into 2024 and even though the consumer still sees is still resilient, how do you think about price gaps and versus your competitors, and especially, do you see them turning a bit more aggressive in terms of pricing or in terms of promotion? Especially when you look at, you know, all the staples companies having some sort of slack between the price, the prices that they put in the market and the margins that they will probably see for 2024, meaning that there would be some room for, you know, them or other competitors being promotional. I don't know if I was clear, happy to elaborate a bit more.
Thank you. Grupo team, could you check if you're self-muted again, please?
I'm sorry, can you hear me?
We can hear you now, yes.
Okay. Thank you. Well, we have a plan for this year, Luis. We expect to become more aggressive in terms of pricing. We are reducing the speed of growth of our EBITDA margin, even though we believe that there will be more opportunities on the expense leverage and on the better management of inventory. We're only recognizing in our guidance a 10 basis points increase on the EBITDA margin, because we believe that we would need to become more aggressive this year. That's what we think, that's what we expect.
With the cost structure that we have and with our ability of managing our inventories, we believe that we're well prepared to sustain the price gaps that we have been able to sustain in the past. We feel that we're very well positioned for that.
Thank you, Tonio, and maybe if I can pick your brain on M&A in Mexico. I mean, you're a public company, and you know, results are public, so all the private players already know that you're the ones with the firepower in the market, perhaps. So, I mean, as opposed to the previous, let's say, five years, when you were kind of leveraged, not precisely in terms of operations where you are right now. So do you see this as an opportunity or maybe something that's playing your not in your favor when negotiating with these private parties? Does it make sense for them to you know, to perhaps getting into a more robust operation with yourselves?
Maybe just pick your brain on there.
I think that we're very well positioned to take over M&A opportunities in Mexico. First of all, we believe that there are regions where we still don't have any presence at all or limited presence, so that opens a real possibility that will also be aligned with the COFECE, which is the antitrust agency in Mexico. So we have real opportunities on that. As well as you already mentioned, with our strong balance sheet. So that will allow us to be probably the only one or the only ones capable to take over these M&A opportunities.
Even though that the targets may know this, in the end, they will probably, if they want to sell their assets, they will know that they will have to go through us, so that will open a door that will allow us probably to negotiate this better. But as I have already said, we're very conscious that these targets would need to add value to the company, allowing us to sustain the Chedraui capabilities. We don't want to get into business that we don't know, and that we'll have to develop capabilities that, at the moment, we don't have, so we're very conscious on that side. And on the other hand, the price.
The price is very important for us, and it would have to add value to Chedraui. So, we're looking at possibilities, but before they materialize, we really want to make sure on this that we comply with these two strategic objectives, Luis.
Very clear, Tonio. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Melissa Byun with Bank of America. Please proceed with your questions.
Great. Thank you. My question is for Carlos. Can you discuss the differences in consumer behavior or other dynamics between Smart & Final and the El Super and Fiesta banners, and why you're seeing such differences in trends among the concepts? And then how should we think about the sustainability of Smart & Final margins over the short term, given the sluggishness that you're seeing in terms of sales? And if you could also expand on some of the initiatives you alluded to in terms of recovering sales at Smart & Final. Thank you.
Sure, thanks, Melissa. I think the key differentiator right now would be that both El Super and Fiesta are really well positioned as price leaders, and where our customers think of both of those formats as, you know, top of mind in terms of where to shop, right? When you have a cautious consumer that's looking for value with less expensive, good quality products, you know, we hit that sweet spot, right? So that's always been a strength of our Super. It's becoming a strength at Fiesta, and it's a strength that we need to develop at Smart & Final.
Smart & Final has always been a very liked format, but not all consumers consider it as their first choice to go buy milk, eggs, and produce, let's say. So our initiatives are really driven towards that, so that some of the categories that drive traffic, like produce, need to be really, really in excellent shape, both from a pricing standpoint and from an execution standpoint at store level, so that we can slowly move Smart & Final to become a first choice for consumers, rather than a format that's very strong during special holidays and special events, and slowly convert it to a primary shop.
So that's really what we're working on, and I think it's through a combination of pricing initiatives, through strengthening our perishable not necessarily assortment, but just our perishable execution. And I think we're gonna get there. We're seeing a little bit of sluggishness like we did, like you mentioned, but that's, you know, that's gonna taper off shortly, and we think we're gonna be able to execute our 2024 plans accordingly.
Great. Do you think that you will need to reinvest some of the gains that you've made in terms of margins back into the value proposition? And how should we think about maybe the balance of the favorable mix impact on margins from perishables versus-
Yeah.
the efforts on the value side?
Yeah. Yes, I think we baked that in in our 2024 plan. So we know what the economic backdrop looks like right now. We're in an environment of slowing food inflation. We've had some deflation in a few categories. EBT dollars are back to pre-pandemic levels. So, you know, we're in a market share game right now. Fortunately, our customer counts are still growing. They've been consistent, even in the fourth quarter, consistent to where they've been year to date. And I think we're positioned properly to achieve this, in all three banners, as a matter of fact.
You know, one of the things that we saw at Smart & Final is that there was a lot of room to grow that margin. So we're on that trajectory.
That's great to hear. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Hector Maya with Scotiabank. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. First, if you could please share your thoughts on how sustainable do you believe that margin levels in the U.S. could be? Like, if we could expect 9% to be further sustainable throughout 2024, particularly regarding your comments on the improvements and spread that you could see in Fiesta and also in Smart & Final. Also, in terms of your strategy for private label in Mexico by format, did you have an update on that, particularly for from Supercito? Is there any changes to your strategy in private label, or how do you believe that the dynamic should evolve in this year? Thank you.
Carlos maybe you,
Of course. Sure. Sure, Anton, my pleasure. Yes. So, you know, one of the things that is helping us with our margin expansion is that we're continuing to grow our sales. So we're getting, we're getting leverage from our sales growth. And we're doing a very nice job with operating costs, I would say. And you know, once again, even the You know, we bought Fiesta in 2018, we're still not where we think we can take that format, right? Sales have been moving nicely, but I think that there's more to be done on the top line. There's more to be done on the expense line. There's more to be done on the gross profit line.
So, I'm bullish on continuing to be able to grow margin in that format. And like I said earlier, Smart & Final, same concept. I think we've got potential for more top line growth. I think we've got more potential on our gross margin line. Expense control is very, very good and disciplined at Smart & Final, but the other two are, you know, we can increase volume per outlet. And so I'm bullish on being able to maintain, for sure, and continue to expand those margins.
Thank you, Carlos. About the private label in Supercito. Well, private label is very important for us in Mexico, and we're also bringing the private label that we use in Smart & Final, basically First Street, with great results. But particularly in Supercito, Supercito has a private label presence of a little over 20% of their sales. It is important, considering that Supercito is not a hard discount concept. Supercito is a proximity supermarket that competes with a very aggressive pricing strategy for a typical supermarket, but has a bigger assortment that allows the customer to buy a complete supermarket basket.
So, I think it's a very interesting format with better margins than a hard discount and with better sales per store and per square meter than a typical hard discount, with a big presence with a big private label presence, but not only just private label. We sell national brands that are very important for Supercito as well, Hector.
Thank you very much for that. I mean, the conversation around hard discount in Mexico is obviously very hot right now. I just wanted to understand if your private label strategy in Supercito, if open to change, or do you feel comfortable with the penetration of 20% of sales as the ceiling or at the ideal level? Or would you be open to increasing that level of penetration in Supercito?
No, we're happy at the moment. We are following the customer. We're very focused on that, and we follow their demand. That's basically what we do in all of our formats, so Supercito is not different. Supercito has a bigger private label presence than a typical supermarket of us, but that comes out more than a strategy that we define. It's following the customer needs. So, if there's more need for private label, and that depends on the customer demand, we would easily adjust it. But at the moment, that's what we see, and we don't expect in the near future any big change.
Thank you. And the last one, I promise. In terms of M&A, if you could also update us on your ambitions. I know you've been discussing the possibility for the U.S. and Mexico, but do you believe that there could be an opportunity this year, in 2024? And if so, would it be more likely to happen in the U.S. or Mexico?
We're open to both M&A opportunities in both countries. We have the balance sheet in both countries, and consolidated to do that. In Mexico, it depends more on the price of the potential target, which has become difficult in the past. In the U.S., maybe Carlos can comment and add on the potential opportunities that we see there.
Yeah, you know, I guess our comments here are very consistent with how Grupo Chedraui in general sees this. So, there's a lot of small chains in the U.S., there's a lot of specialty operators in the U.S. But look, ultimately, I think the message here needs to be very clear, which is: We've got a good balance sheet, we are open to looking at every opportunity, but we are going to buy at a very, very good price, and address formats where we think we can add value. So, you know, as things happen, people will get informed. But in the meantime, I think the takeaway is that we're very, very open to it, we're gonna do it wisely, and we've got the power to do it.
Excellent. Thank you very much for all your answers. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alvaro Garcia with BTG Pactual. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi, Antonio, Carlos. Thanks for the space for questions. Just congrats on the results. Two questions on my side, both on Mexico, both related to Supercito as well. The first one is sort of on human capital, on finding people, on labor. I was wondering if you can comment, would you, would you say that Supercito, obviously, you know, you're, you're set to open 100 this year. Would you say it's the hardest format to find people for? My first question, and then my second question has to do with the distribution to Supercitos. I know that a lot of the distribution, and this is sort of modeled
On something has done in the past, comes from your larger, and I'm just curious if you think there's a limit to the capacity of this distribution strategy in the future once Supercito reaches significant scale? Thank you.
Well, thank you for your question, Alvaro. Well, yes, not only for Supercito, but in every supermarket that we operate in Mexico and the US, it is a business which is very labor intensive, and to be able to grow, you have to really prepare the human capabilities to be able to meet our strategies, and we are prepared for that. We are really meeting the expansion goals with the strategies including on the human resource side.
About distribution, yes, it is very clear that to sustain the growth that we project in the future, not only the 100 stores this year, but we believe that there will be opportunities to double that potential growth in the coming years. We are preparing with a centralized distribution that do not only depend on the bigger stores that support the Supercito. So, we have that already put in plan, and we are already distributing centrally, by not only by case, but by item to these Supercitos, and that's already happening within our distribution capabilities at the moment.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Our next question... Sorry about that. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Rodrigo Alcantara with UBS. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi, thanks, Antonio. Very straightforward questions here on my side. First one, if you can break down the same-store sales in Mexico, perhaps by region and format. Curious precisely to understand the performance of Supercito, right, your proximity format. And the second one, very quickly, if you have any update regarding the discussions about Smart & Final in Mexico. I reminded that there are some bottlenecks there in the negotiations, right? So just curious if you can give us an update on that would be very helpful. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for your questions, Rodrigo. Well, let me share with you the same-store sales by region in the quarter. Basically, most of the growth still coming from the south and southeast, but we're seeing a positive trend in the metropolitan area of Mexico City that we didn't see in the past. So, we were able to expand same-store sales close to double digit as well in the metropolitan area that we have not seen in the past. On the other hand, the Smart & Final potential in Mexico, we think there are possibilities.
We hope that we can probably test that format, maybe one or two, but still, we have not closed the negotiations with our business partners. So once we have that put in place, we would probably be able to test that format in other regions, but still open, that negotiation have not been closed yet.
Awesome. Very, very helpful. Just on the same-store sales format, maybe you can share on Supercito, specifically how it was.
Yes. The Super Chedraui is the format that has been able to expand more than the rest of the formats with a reasonable difference. That means that we have been able to expand stronger on the food side than on the general merchandise side.
Awesome. Thank you very much, Antonio.
You're welcome.
Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Fernando Herrera with Compass Group. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi. Can you hear me?
Yes, we hear you well, Fernando.
Perfect. Okay, so, first of all, congratulations. My first question is, you can go a bit deeper on consumer dynamics in the U.S., what are you expecting for 2024? And the second question is, related to the margin potential expansion in Mexico. I mean, I have understood that, the Supercito format has proven to be more profitable. So with all that growth, you're focusing on that format, you think there's still some space to keep improving that plan?
Fernando, I think your question. Oh, sorry, Antonio.
No, no, no. Please, Carlos, please, please. I, I think it's the consumer dynamics in the U.S., that's what,
Yeah. Perfect.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Yeah.
I think as I mentioned a little bit earlier, it's we see it as pretty straightforward in terms of the economic backdrop that we have and the consumer dynamics, right? So we've got slowing food inflation. Like as I mentioned, EBT dollars are at pre-pandemic levels. So what does that mean? Well, you've got a cautious consumer. The consumer is looking for value, they are looking for less expensive options, and I think, like I said, I think our three formats are really well positioned to to address these consumer needs. So certainly, the tailwinds that we've had are no longer with us. You know, high inflation is a thing of the past. Stimulus dollars are a thing of the past, so you're really in a market share game.
But like I said, I think we're well positioned to succeed.
Then, about your question on the expansion side, in Mexico. Well, this year, we plan to open 7 Tiendas Chedraui in Mexico. That's the big format. 3 out of those are Selecto. Then we plan to open 3 Super Chedrauis and 100 Supercitos. That's the organic expansion plan for this year in Mexico.
Okay. My question background was that you had mentioned that the Supercito format has proven to be more profitable. So do you see some space to keep improving profitability in Mexico, given the focus you're giving to expand to Supercito further?
Well, we, the expansion plan basically is driven by market opportunities. That's the main focus. And we believe that Supercito has a huge opportunities in certain metropolitan areas where we already operate. One is Mexico City, then Veracruz, then Jalapa, which is a city of Veracruz. And we also plan to expand this in Cuernavaca and other cities close to the metropolitan area of Mexico City. So the strategy, it's basically focused on market opportunities where we expand our formats, and we believe there are huge opportunities for Supercito.
Perfect. Thanks.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would like to hand the call back over to management for any closing remarks.
Well, I just want to thank everyone for joining, and hope to be talking to all of you soon when the first quarter closes. We're looking forward to that. Thank you very much.
Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.