Amigo Supermarkets ( es, Supermercados Amigo) is a chain of supermarkets located in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and owned by

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History

In the 1920s, ''Supermercados Amigo'' was opened by Jose Marti Fuentes. During the company's formative years, it operated small supermarkets across the island; these would be located at small strip malls. Many towns in

had multiple ''Supermercados Amigo'' locations.

The transformation

After the

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and Coop Supermarkets companies ceased operations in Puerto Rico, ''Amigo'' began plans to become a major player in Puerto Rico's supermarket industry. In 1989, they opened their first major store, located at

Plaza del Carmen Mall Plaza del Carmen Mall is a two-story enclosed shopping mall in Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of ...

, in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...

. Subsequently, many other major stores were opened across Puerto Rico. A massive

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campaign began, and their slogan, ''Amigo, lo mejor al mejor precio'' (''Amigo, the best at the best prices'') became a household phrase in Puerto Rico.

Economic problems

Amigo ran into serious economic problems in the 1990s, most of them having to do with employee salary. As a consequence, the company began losing money. There were several

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

s, and these received wide media attention.

Walmart acquisition

In July 2002, American retail giant

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

purchased Supermercados Amigo, in what became a controversial business move. Claims of

unfair competition Unfair may refer to: * Double Taz and Double LeBron James in multiverses ''fair''; unfairness or injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situ ...

and monopoly were instantly made by smaller supermarkets, because Amigo would be backed by the strong assets of Walmart. As part of the agreement made in order for the purchase to take place, various supermarket locations had to be closed (specifically if there was a Walmart or Sam's Club nearby). The closed Amigos became part of a new (at the time) supermarkets company known as "SuperMax" and "Pitusa Markets". The structure of the supermarkets themselves was not changed because of the purchase, the only exception being that now customers may pay for their purchases with their respective Sam's Club or Walmart Credit Cards. In January 2016, Walmart announced it would close four Amigo stores (plus all three Super Ahorros stores) located throughout the island, as part of a larger wave of store closures.

2019 renovations

On November 5, 2019, Amigo Supermarkets announced a renovation plan on its stores nationwide that would cost $7.8 million

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Supermercados Pueblo acquisition

In July 2022, Walmart announced that it would sell the Amigo chain to Pueblo. In June 2022, the closing of the last Amigo supermarket by Walmart was announced, this was located in Dorado and the sale of the remaining 11 Amigo Supermarkets to Pueblo Supermarkets was announced, the brand name will remain and the 1,100 employees They will keep their jobs. On August 26, 2022, the Amigo supermarkets closed their doors at 6pm to begin the transition of Matrix companies from Walmart to Pueblo, the possible reopening of the Amigo is scheduled for September 1.

References

External links

* {{Portalbar, Supermarkets, Puerto Rico, Companies, Food Retail companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in Puerto Rico Food and drink companies of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican brands Supermarkets of Puerto Rico Supermarkets of the United States

Amigo Amigo(s) (Portuguese and Spanish for ''male friend'') may refer to: People * Carlos Amigo Vallejo (born 1934), Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Seville Places Facilities * Amigos School, a bilingual primary school in Cambridge, Ma ...