Wal-Mart de Mexico to open 300 stores in 2010

Mexico City Wal-Mart de Mexico plans to open 300 stores and restaurants in 2010. Walmex, as the company is known, said it will invest 12.5 billion pesos ($971.6 million) in the country this year.

In addition to the new stores, the investment also includes the upgrading of the company’s distribution and logistics network.

The Mexican unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says the new stores will create 7,000 jobs and indirectly employ 7,800 people during construction.

The company hopes to boost sales in poorer neighborhoods by opening more convenience stores with smaller products. Its Bodega Aurrera Express stores will account for 62% of the company’s new locations this year.

Walmex opened 275 stores in 2009. It now has 1,478 stores and restaurants.

The company's retail banking unit, Banco Walmart, plans to open 168 branches in different cities this year, an increase of 88% compared with 2008.