Comercial Mexicana
Tiendas Comercial Mexicana S.A. de C.V., colloquially known as La Comercial and La Comer, was a Mexican hypermarket group that operated mainly in Mexico City and Central Mexico. It was founded in 1930 and operated by Controladora Comercial Mexicana. From 2016 to 2018 it was owned and operated by Soriana, which also owns Alprecio stores. Comercial Mexicana, including its different store formats, was the third-largest supermarket chain in Mexico as of 2014.
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| Type | Retail business |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hypermarkets and Super Centers |
| Successor | Soriana, Bodega Soriana and Mega Soriana |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founder | Antonino González Abascal Carlos González Nova |
| Defunct | May 2018[1] |
| Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico |
Key people | Santiago García García (CEO) |
Number of employees | 38,930 |
| Parent | Organicación Soriana |
| Website | www |
History
The first store, which was opened by Carlos González Nova and his father, Antonino González Abascal, in Mexico City in 1930, primarily sold textile products.[2]
In January 2015 it was announced that Organización Soriana would buy Comercial Mexicana stores, from which 118 will be fully owned while 42 would be leased and operated by third parties.[3]
Stores
Comercial Mexicana had different retail formats, with the general stores branded as Comercial Mexicana, the larger stores as Mega Comercial Mexicana and its smaller facilities as Bodega Comercial Mexicana. Many of its general stores were connected to a shopping mall with competing businesses surrounding. An example was in Plaza Río in Tijuana, Baja California, which had a Comercial Mexicana as an anchor store but also has a traditional department store and smaller specialty stores selling items that could be purchased in Comercial Mexicana.
Programs
Comercial Mexicana also had programs for children. In exchange for working in stores as bag boys, the children received family support, tuition support and educational supplies, and basic services. The children worn almost-trademark brown uniforms with the orange pelican logo and were expected to be well groomed. They helped most of the customers out of the store and return the carts, which in turn kept the shopping cart thefts low.
Executives
Carlos González Nova, Comercial Mexicana's co-founder, served as the chairman of the company's board of directors until 1998.[4] He remained the honorary chairman of Comercial Mexicana until his death on August 19, 2009, at the age of 92.[4]
In 1998, Guillermo González Nova, younger brother of Carlos, became chairman of the board.[5] A boat owned and controlled by Guillermo González Nova and carrying others hit and killed British singer Kirsty MacColl while operating illegally in the Cozumel Marine Park.
Carlos González Nova's son, Carlos González Zabalegui, was the last company's executive chairman and CEO.[4]
References
- "Soriana desaparecerá a Comercial Mexicana". El Universal (in Spanish). 14 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- Longdorf, Amy (2009-08-24). "Founder of Comercial Mexicana Dies". Poder 360. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- "Mexico's Soriana to Buy Stores From Comercial Mexicana". Nasdaq.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- Franco Piña, Fernando (2009-08-20). "Falleció el fundador de La Comer". El Economista. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Official site (in Spanish)