Over the last two or so decades, Mexico has become a major force in the international market.
The country has taken advantage of globalization — especially with other North American neighbors like the United States and Canada — in order to advance its market potential and make itself known as a worldwide leader.
However, the country’s relationship with the United States is especially valuable, since it buys nearly 80% of Mexico’s exports which are worth more than 385 billion USD.
Many U.S.-founded companies have also set up shop in Mexico, as it offers an eager workforce, affordable costs to do business, and very close proximity between borders for easier transportation.
Another interesting factor is that U.S. citizens do not need a visa for Mexico, and may enter simply by filling out the Mexican Tourist Card (also known as the FMM). Thanks to this, businessmen and entrepreneurs have convenient access to the Mexican market and can easily travel between the two countries to sign business deals.
While there are dozens (if not hundreds) of U.S. companies that have moved to Mexico and found success, here are four of the most well-known:
Walmart
Walmart was originally founded in the early 1960s in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has evolved to be one of the largest hypermarket chains in the United States. The company has more than 10,500 stores across 24 countries and is known as the world’s largest company by revenue.
While the United States is home to nearly half of Walmart stores, the largest division outside of the U.S. is Mexico. There are more than 2,700 stores across the country, including name-brand Walmarts and Bodega Aurrera, a discount store chain that was created for the local market.
In terms of the supermarket industry, Walmart has done extremely well for itself in Mexico. In fact, Walmart has nearly 70% market share in the country and beats out the competition. The next biggest supermarket chain, Sorianna, only has about 15% of the market share.
Starbucks
Mexico is known for its strong coffee heritage, so it’s no surprise why Starbucks has quickly gained popularity amongst locals.
Starbucks was originally founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1971, and opened its first cafe in Mexico City in 2002. Nowadays, there are more than 530 stores across the country, with more plans for expansion in the future.
Besides consumers, Starbucks has also partnered with local coffee farmers in Mexico (and the wider Central Americas) to purchase fair trade coffee for the 32,000-plus stores and cafes across the world.
Apple
As the world becomes more digitized and connected, there becomes an increased demand in mobile electronics and smartphones — which is exactly where Apple comes in.
The Cupertino-based company currently holds almost 20% of the mobile vendor market share in Mexico, trailing just behind Samsung’s 25% piece of the pie.
Despite being in second place, Apple is quickly gaining ground thanks to Mexico’s growing middle class: in February 2022, it had a 17.1% share of the market, and in just a few months, that figure grew to 19.97% in July 2022.
While many other companies typically build many brick-and-mortar store locations when they enter a foreign market, Apple’s approach was slightly different. The company made sure to expand its main markets first by focusing on the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia before moving on to secondary markets.
In fact, Mexico opened its first Apple store in September 2016 at Centro Santa Fe in Mexico City. The mall is the largest shopping center in Mexico and is well-positioned in the capital of the country.
At the moment, Apple has two stores: the original (noted above), as well as a state-of-the-art building that was unveiled in late 2019 called Apple Antara.
General Motors
Last but certainly not least is General Motors, which was one of the first U.S.-based companies to create a subsidiary in Mexico.
The company’s history goes back nearly a century: General Motors was founded in June 1911 and began to scout markets in Mexico and Australia in 1912. After determining proper operations and finding local businessmen, General Motors officially opened an international branch in Mexico in 1935 and has been going strong ever since.
Currently, General Motors has comfortably positioned itself in the Mexican market: at 15.6%, it has the largest market share of passenger cars and is the largest automotive manufacturer in the country.
There are four GM factories across Mexico, which produce car models like the Chevy Trax, GMC Terrain, Chevy Blazer, and more. In 2018, the company broke its own record and manufactured an astounding 830,000 vehicles in one year, which was a 4% increase over 2017 figures.
Overall, the United States and Mexico have one of the strongest business relationships in today’s market and are bound to grow even more in the next few years.
SP
