Amigo Supermarkets

Amigo Supermarkets (Supermercados Amigo) are a chain of supermarkets located in Puerto Rico owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Beginnings

Supermercados Amigo were opened by Jose A. 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 Puerto Rico had multiple Supermercados Amigo locations.

The transformation

After the Grand Union 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, in Caguas. Subsequently, many other major stores were opened across Puerto Rico. A massive television 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 strikes, and these received wide media attention.

Wal-Mart

In July of 2004, in what became a pretty controversial business move, American retail giant Wal-Mart took over Supermercados Amigo. Claims of unfair competition and monopoly were instantly made by smaller supermarkets, due to th fact that now Amigo would be backed by the strong assets of Wal-mart. As part of the agreement made in order for the purchase to take place, various supermarket locations had to be closed (specially if there was a Wal-Mart or Sam's Club nearby). The closed Amigos became part of a new (at the time) supermarket company known as "SuperMax".

The structure of the supermarket themselves were 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 Wal-Mart Credit Cards.