In the United States and in Mexico, it has been a tough year with economic uncertainty, said José Antonio Fernández Garza, CEO of Monterrey, Mexico-based Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. of C.V. (FEMSA) Proximity and Health Division OXXO.
“The way we address it, especially when we have 24,000 stores, people are expecting us to really provide value offering,” he said at CSP’s Outlook Leadership conference Aug. 21 in a session titled Disrupt, Acquire, Integrate: The New Rules of Growth.
Garza said OXXO has introduced almost 400 SKUs in its convenience stores in Mexico, “all the way from tobacco and beer, but groceries and snacks—and it’s a huge element not only for providing a service that people are demanding, but being able to have access to a much more convenient basket, even if you have to do some combos.”
He added that vendors have stepped in as well.
- FEMSA is No. 33 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
“We’ve done a lot of things with our partners in soft drinks and with our food providers, and everyone’s been chipping in,” Garza said. “To be honest, we want to be the best choice, even for your groceries. In a place like Mexico, going to a supermarket can cost you a lot in terms of transportation costs, but for us to be the corner store and to be able to provide solutions for groceries is a key element for us.”
Looking at the next 12 to 24 months, Garza said, “I’m generally very optimistic. I think pessimists and optimists die the same but live very different lives.”
He added that he’s very optimistic about the value proposition that OXXO is bringing to the U.S.
“It’s going to create a value proposition where we can scale and hopefully grow,” he said. “I’m very excited about that.”
Garza expects his company to go through challenging times as it transforms.
“We’re facing a lot of competition in Mexico, with discounters growing rapidly, digital services—we offer a lot of financial services, a lot of them are going digital—so evolving our value proposition in Mexico is pretty important. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re very excited for what we’re doing.”
Beverage bottler and convenience-store retailer FEMSA has set its sights on becoming a major player in the United States after its acquisition of 249 Delek locations in 2024, officials said. The $385 million deal with Delek established FEMSA in the Southwest United States, primarily in Texas but also in New Mexico and Arkansas. The stores, previously operated under the DK Convenience brand, are transitioning to OXXO. The chain will retain a branded fuel partnership with Alon and DK Fuel, owned by Delek. FEMSA began operating the former Delek US stores on Oct. 1, 2024. FEMSA owns the world’s largest Coke bottler, Coca-Cola Mexico. Its Proximity Americas Division operates the OXXO convenience-store chain and related retail formats in Mexico, Central America and South America, and now in North America. Its Proximity Europe Division operates Valora, its European retail c-store unit.
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