OXXO is rapidly expanding in the United States. It has rebranded 50 DK convenience stores and plans to rebrand 77 more through 2027.
Catherine Hart, senior director of retail operations at OXXO USA, said she’s fortunate that while the convenience-store chain is rapidly expanding, it is also maintaining the culture and standards she believes in.
Without integrity, a business will fail, Hart shared while speaking to CSP’s Vice President of Content Abbey Lewis at CSP’sC-Store Women’s event, held Nov. 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas.
“It’s something I focus on every day—the right decision isn't always going to be the easiest, but it's the right decision. And so, working for an organization that's really focused on integrity and accountability, humbleness—and they put the employee as the heart of the organization—is something I can respect and want to represent,” Hart said.
- FEMSA is No. 33 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Hart also shared how she’s developed team members by helping them grow and not shying away from hard conversations.
When Hart was director of operations at Delek US Holdings, the company that OXXO parent company Monterrey, Mexico-based FEMSA acquired 249 c-stores from in October 2024, she recognized one employee who was being underutilized. Sometimes when someone is doing well in their current role, managers are hesitant to advance them because they want to keep them where they're at, she said.
“And I've always found that fascinating because, why would you not want to empower them to develop them and advance them so they can teach the next level to be as good, if not better, than them?” Hart asked.
She eventually moved that employee up into a senior management position.
Part of leading a team is also having hard conversations. Hart said the hardest part for her is being honest about an employee’s performance, because they may not recognize how they’re performing themselves.
“Because if you're not having those performance conversations with them, why would they?” she asked.
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