The Costa Rican supermarket chain, Auto Mercado, opened its latest retail outlet in Guadalupe, a northeastern district of San José, making it the fourth Auto Mercado store in the eastern section of the capital.

With a US$1 million investment, this is the upscale supermarket’s second new store to open in 2017, said the company.

The other opened in Santo Domingo de Heredia in January, which is in keeping with the company’s announced 2016 – 2024 expansion plan, said Diego Alonso, the company’s commercial vice president

The new Auto Mercado Guadalupe is located 200 meters east of the Guadalupe-Moravia intersection, and has a sales area of ​​1,600 square meters and a staff of 97.

The company now runs a total of 20 supermarkets in six of Costa Rica’s provinces, with more on the way including one in 2018 in Guayabos de Curridabat, a district in southeastern San José.

“We will also continue to remodel our existing supermarkets in order to improve our shopping experience every day,” added Alonso.

 

These new outlets will prove important with its competitor, the transnational Walmart, also expanding. Walmart announced earlier this year they planned to double their operations in the country over the next five years as part of a regional expansion plan.