E-commerce firm Mercado Libre to open distribution centers in Mexico

This will be the company’s first venture which would yield 3,000 jobs in Mexico


Reuters February 17, 2018 1 min read
Employees work at headquarters MercadoLibre (Online marketplace company) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 10, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

Mercado Libre, Latin America’s home-grown e-commerce firm, said on Thursday that it would open two large distribution centers in Mexico as part of an effort to improve its logistics in the country.

Buenos Aires-based Mercado Libre said it would invest $100 million to open the distribution centers, the company’s first, which would yield 3,000 jobs in Mexico.

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The facilities will help the company speed up deliveries, which is essential to the appeal of e-commerce, Chief Executive Ignacio Caride said in an interview earlier this month with Reuters.

“As fast as possible - that is going to be the experience of e-commerce,” he said. “That is the big difference between people who go to retail stores with packages in their arms, and people who shop online - how long it takes.”

The distribution centers, which total 1.4 million square feet (130,000 square meters), are located in the state of Mexico, which surrounds Mexico City.

Mexico’s nascent e-commerce market is heating up, with Amazon also investing heavily.

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Logistics is the most vexing challenge facing e-commerce companies, Caride said.

“That is the most difficult part to solve, because it’s very expensive, and it requires lots of people, and it requires a very big investment,” he said.

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