Companies Falabella including department stores, banks, insurance, Mallplaza shopping malls and recent arrivals. Swedish Ikea chainThey are doing their part to strengthen their operations in the Colombian market and will continue to do so in 2024.
Rodrigo Fajardo, who manages the operation in Colombia, explains each business’ plans for 2024.
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This year has been very challenging for many reasons; Because we started with a tax reform that added to inflation, which made people a little poorer and made products quite expensive. Interest rates are also very high, so it is very difficult for people to borrow money.
This inevitably caused consumption to slow down. Actually, Traffic decreased across shopping malls and stores. This has made the year quite challenging, but fortunately the last two months have been more inclusive and we think it will be a good Christmas. We are very optimistic that the end of the year will be very positive.
We had no deficit this year, we were rationalizing our operation because when turbulence comes we have to tighten our belts a little bit and stop growing because The financial cost of expansion is too expensive. So we worry about rational operational data with an extremely limited inventory. We dedicate our resources to improving our value proposition to our customers and improving the perception and appearance of stores.
26 of these and nearly 8 of our stores have been renovated, and we will continue that process. At the beginning of next year, we will change the lighting of 8 more stores.
We continue to look at the possibility of opening new stores in intermediate cities, in a more limited, more urban format, as we did in the Alegra Shopping Centre, south of Barranquilla, and this has worked out very well. We are looking at how we can appeal to other cities, but this is not the priority right now until consumption recovers. We happily see that the economy is heading in the right direction, meaning we will return to normal in the second half of next year.
They asked us if we would leave the country, but as a group we have a strong commitment to Colombia and are very interested in the well-being of the country and are determined to stay here. We never had the slightest intention of leaving Colombia with some format.
day by day, Falabella includes participation in retail, banking, insurance, Mallplaza, Ikea, Falabella.com and SodimacWe have over 15,000 jobs; Physical presence in 29 cities and more than 570,000 square meters. We reach 900 municipalities in Colombia. We are making big investments. Although we are not expanding Falabella retail in stores, we are increasing our logistics capacity to support growth in online sales.
We are building an 80,000 square meter distribution center in Cota with a fund called Visum, it will be one of the largest in Colombia and is something that is envisioned in the long term for the next 40 years.
opening Ikea in Bogota this year and the other two in 2024 in Cali and Medellín. Mallplaza has four shopping centers in Cartagena, Manizales, Barranquilla and Bogotá. It is opening its fifth one in Cali with an investment of $150 million. Sodimac, in which Falabella has a stake, is also growing together with Homecenter. At Falabella.com we already have 5,000 sellers in Colombia, most of them small entrepreneurs who use our platform to sell, and we reach 900 municipalities. We are committed to having a stronger presence in every format. In retail, we have a relationship with the textile industry with 60 local suppliers selling in our stores. We worked with 180 factories to produce our own brand.
What has been said since the last presidential campaign. We have a 130-year history of betting in the countries we are present in. Every year has its own challenges, but this in no way means you have to leave the country.
Given the decline in consumption and macroeconomic problems affecting the entire region, it is clear that companies are trying to rationalize their activities without affecting their offers to customers. This meant that 400 people left a few weeks ago, including 28 from Colombia. This is 0.5%, we have 100,000 employees. News from Chile is presented as if it were from Colombia.
Based on the information that has been made public so far, I can talk about the $150 million we’ve invested in the Cali mall and distribution center, of which we’ve invested approximately $90 million. We are also investing approximately another $30 million in automation.
CONSTANZA GÓMEZ GUASCA
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Source: Exame
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
