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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Amazon.com Reportedly Eyes Fulfillment Center Near Mexico City

09/14/2017
Voice of America (VOA), citing sources familiar with the project, reported Amazon.com Inc. is preparing to open a 1 million square-foot warehouse near Mexico City, as part of an effort to boost its presence in Mexico's nascent e-commerce industry.

The new warehouse is slated to be built in the Tepotzotlan municipality about 25 miles north of the Mexican capital, according to four Mexico City real estate professionals familiar with the plans, VOA News said. Expected to be completed next year, the facility would triple Amazon's distribution space in Mexico, home to around 120 million potential customers.

The U.S. Government’s international radio voice said Amazon’s Mexico push comes amid talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, which could benefit the Seattle-based retailer, if the United States persuades Mexico to raise a $50 limit on the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free.

Amazon is a relative newcomer to Mexico; it opened its Kindle e-books site to Mexican customers in 2013 and expanded into sales of physical goods just two years ago. But it is growing much faster than rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and is already the nation's third-largest online retailer. Amazon posted $253 million in sales in Mexico last year, more than double the year before, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

Amazon spokesman Julio Gil declined to comment to the VOA on plans for a new warehouse in Mexico. He said the company's Mexican unit is aiming to expand its product offerings, offer faster deliveries and make the purchasing process as smooth and secure as possible to inspire consumer confidence.

Amazon currently operates two distribution centers in Mexico totaling more than 500,000 square feet (46,452 sq m), Gil said. Both are in Cuautitlan Izcalli in the state of Mexico, adjacent to the autonomous district of Mexico City, whose metro area is home to more than 20 million people.

The new warehouse will be constructed about 7 miles (11 km) from the existing facilities. All are located along the so-called "NAFTA" highway, an industrial belt that runs through Mexico's factory regions to the U.S. border.

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