Walmarts New Doral Headquarters Targets Expansion In Latin America

By Yudislaidy Fernandez
Giant retailer Wal-Mart has opened regional headquarters in Doral as it focuses on expanding its operations in Latin America.

The staff of 12 executives is to provide support services and oversee retail operations in nine Latin American countries where Wal-Mart currently has stores and plans further growth.

So far, Wal-Mart Latinoamerica encompasses Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua.

The offices at 7747 NW 48th St. includes functional areas with oversight in the legal, finance, real estate and business development functions of these countries.

Eduardo Solórzano was appointed last week regional president and chief executive officer of the regional headquarters here.

"Our key function is to enable our operations in these countries to make decisions with speed and have the support they need to be customers’ first choice in retailing," Mr. Solórzano said in an e-mail. "That means we’re helping these businesses win locally by allowing them not only make decisions more quickly, but decisions that are more in touch with the customers they serve."

Doral was selected as the best location for the regional headquarters because of Miami-Dade’s reputation as the Gateway to Latin America.

"It is a great base from which to oversee our Latin American operations," he said.

South Florida’s proximity to Latin America, its international airport and port, and multicultural community have attracted other corporate groups to anchor their Latin American headquarters here. Among such companies are Nokia, Hewlett-Packard and Fed-Ex.

Mr. Solórzano’s leadership team in Miami-Dade is to include natives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

Previously, Mr. Solórzano was based in Mexico City, where he served as president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart de México, overseeing dramatic expansion of the business in terms of units, employees, sales and share value, Wal-Mart said in a statement. The company employs more than 2.1 million worldwide and raked sales of $401 billion in fiscal year 2009.

He said there are no immediate plans to further expand the regional offices in Doral. Advertisement