Wal-Mart says "Si!"

With Hispanics the largest-growing segment in the US population, it’s no wonder that grocery retailers continue to chase the Latin consumer.

The latest is Wal-Mart: its Más Club targets recent immigrants who until now have found their familiar foods in local bodegas. A Sam's Club spinoff, the concept is part of the company’s efforts to secure the Hispanic shopper’s food dollars. With Sam’s Club’s share of the parent company’s $401bn sales having slipped from 13.3% in 2005 to 11.7%, the goal is to bring the division more in-line with the domestic market.

Internationally, Sam’s revenue has increased from 18.7% to 24.6% during the same period. Given the amount of small businesses who shop at Sam’s Club, the Bentonville Behemoth has also launched Supermercado de Walmart. While local markets offer personal service, Wal-Mart execs believe they can compete on price, but are moving beyond the Sam’s model of frozens and pre-packaged foods to include a tortilla bakery, 20 varieties of fresh-made Mexican pastries, and a butcher shop selling custom cuts and ethnic delicacies like cow tongue.

Yet despite the firm’s muscle, pitching to Hispanics means entering a crowded marketplace with some established competition not limited to the corner bodega . Additionally the road to Hispanic marketing heaven has been littered with some glitzy failures, including Safeway’s Tianguis. Other retailers have chosen to slant existing stores to Hispanic tastes, rather than open stand-alone stores aimed at the Latin shopper, including both Winn-Dixie and Publix.

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